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March 10, 2008 – 1:24 p.m.

House Panel Files Lawsuit in Subpoena Spat

With White House
The House Judiciary Committee filed a lawsuit Monday against White House chief of
staff Joshua B. Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers in a bid to force
them to testify about the dismissals in 2006 of nine U.S. attorneys.
The panel had subpoenaed Miers and Bolten for testimony and White House
documents as part of its investigation into the firings. Bolten and Miers ignored the
subpoenas after President Bush invoked executive privilege and instructed them not
to comply.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, seeks an order for Miers to appear
before the Judiciary committee, and for Miers and Bolten to supply “all responsive
documents” not covered by executive privilege, as well as a log of all documents that
the administration is withholding on that ground.
“The political branches are at an impasse and thus it is imperative that the court
entertains this action,” attorneys for the House of Representatives said in the
complaint. “If the matter is left unresolved, the committee will continue to suffer
substantial injury as it will be prevented from obtaining the information necessary to
fulfill its constitutional responsibilities to conduct meaningful oversight and enact
necessary and appropriate legislation.”
The House voted Feb. 14 to adopt a contempt resolution against Bolten and Miers.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., submitted the citation to the Justice
Department on Feb 28. Under federal law, the U.S. attorney for the District of
Columbia is required to put the matter before a grand jury.
But Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey made it clear that he would not allow his
prosecutor to act on the citation. Mukasey argues that contempt of Congress charges
cannot be pursued against executive branch officials who obey a presidential claim of
executive privilege, as Bolten and Miers did. Mukasey formally notified Pelosi on Feb.
29 that he would not allow the citation to be put before a grand jury.
Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Minority Leader John A. Boehner , R-Ohio,
dismissed the lawsuit as a “partisan political stunt” and “a complete waste of time.”
He said Democrats should instead concentrate on completing an overhaul of the
nation’s primary electronic surveillance law.