Contempt

The [House voted] 223-32 Thursday to hold presidential chief of staff Josh Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers in contempt. The citations charge Miers with failing to testify and accuse her and Bolten of refusing Congress' demands for documents related to the 2006-2007 firings.

  Yahoo

Much good may it do them.

The White House said the Justice Department would not ask the U.S. attorney to pursue the House contempt charges.

Uh-huh. Which is one reason maintaining a crook as the AG is so important.

With great contempt for the contempt vote, "scores" of Republican Congresslugs got up and stormed out.

....but hey, report what you want....you will anyway.

Hey! More Subpoenas!

In a direct challenge to President Bush, a House panel said Wednesday it has prepared subpoenas to force CIA officials to testify about the agency's secret destruction of interrogation videotapes.

  Yahoo

And that was a waste of time, wasn't it?

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

What Now?

The White House has been trying to avoid showing records of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff's visits by claiming that visitor logs are presidential records. U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth today ruled that they are in fact, as they have always been, Secret Service records, and are therefore subject to public viewing under FOI requests. Interestingly, the judge ordered the White House to turn over records on visits of several religious leaders. In the Abramoff case, however, the question was whether it was illegal for the White House to order the Secret Service to destroy their copies of the logs after they'd given them to the President, and Judge Lamberth said he didn't have the authority to rule on that issue. Hmm.

....well, do what you want....you will anyway.

Begging for Information

It's the Congressional passtime.

[Congressman Henry Waxman] is asking for Mukasey's help in obtaining records of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's interviews with Bush, Cheney and other senior administration officials regarding the unmasking of former CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson.

  Raw Story

Yeah, good luck with that. This is a guy who’s covering the administration’s ass so well, he won’t even admit that torture is torture.

Waxman charged that the White House is blocking Fitzgerald from handing over copies of interview reports dealing with certain White House officials, especially Bush and Cheney, although he has handed over copies of reports on other administration officials, including CIA officers and State Department employees.

[...]

"I recognize that President Bush and his counsel may not want this information provided to Congress. But the role of the Attorney General is to administer the laws with impartiality," Waxman wrote Monday in a letter to Mukasey. "The Justice Department provided the exact same information to Congress during the Clinton Administration. There is no special standard for President Bush that exempts him and his senior advisors from responsible congressional oversight."

I think it’s called divine right of kings.

Okay, We'll Give You One More Chance

[L]awmakers in the House threatened to hold two of Bush’s aides [Miers and Rove] in contempt of Congress unless they complied with subpoenas for information on the Justice Department’s purge of federal prosecutors last winter.

[...]

“It won’t go anywhere,” White House press secretary Dana Perino said.

  Kansas City.com

Well, no shit Sherlock. How long have they been demanding the White House honor those subpoenas? Has the paper discolored yet?

Let’s give them one more chance to turn over those documents. I’m sure they’ll do it this time.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

And Who'll Challenge Them?

TPM Muckraker has a story that shouldn't surprise you.

We noted two weeks ago that the Bush administration had refused a Freedom of Information Act request for records concerning the loss of millions of White House emails. Justice Department lawyers argued that the office which maintained that information, the Office of Administration, was not subject to FOIA.

But sometimes the administration surprises even itself with its capacity for secrecy. And so it was here, since the White House website clearly stated that the Office of Administration was subject to FOIA. And the office had been busily fulfilling FOIA requests for years, even employing a FOIA officer (the Department lawyers explained in their filing that this wasn't a problem).

So, are they forking over the documents? Fat chance! They've simply updated their website to reflect their claim.

Hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Okay, Just One More

Remember this post of mine on August 8?

Leahy says he really means it this time. The WH better turn over those documents pertaining to the warrantless wiretap program. I bet they're just scared enough now to do it, too.

In the immortal words of Mike "Wayne Campbell" Myers, "And monkeys might fly out of my butt."

Well, guess what? No monkeys.

Leahy first gave the White House until July 18 to produce the documents, and then he agreed to give the administration until Aug. 1 to comply. The letter to Fielding sent Wednesday sets Aug. 20 at 2:30 p.m. as the "new return date" for the subpoenas.

That was headlined: Leahy sets final deadline for White House on wiretapping docs, and that prompted my sarcastic August 8 post.

And, 2:30 pm on August 20 has come and gone, the White House has asked for more time, and Senator Leahy has said okay. Again. And threatened the White House. Again.

During a press conference this afternoon, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) announced that the White House had still not responded to the committee's subpoena for documents relating to the legal basis for the warrantless surveillance program.

[...]

"I prefer cooperation to contempt." But if the administration has still not responded to the subpoena by September when Congress returns from recess, he said that he would pursue contempt proceedings in the committee "if that's what it takes."

  TPM Muckraker

Oooh. Doubly scared now.

Miers to House: How Many Ways Do I Have to Say No?

Former White House Counsel Harriet Miers has again rejected calls from the House Judiciary Committee to comply with a subpoena for her testimony on the firing of 9 US Attorneys in 2006 and 2007.

  Raw Story

Well, there's a big surprise.

Conyers had set 5 PM, July 17, as the deadline for Miers to make her intentions known about complying with the committee's subpoena. The Judiciary Committee had warned last week that it would contemplate other actions, including criminal contempt proceedings, if Miers failed to comply with the subpoena.

Knock your lights out "contemplating." Somehow I don't think that's going to scare anybody.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

White House Responds to Subpoenas

CNN

Show Down

The Senate subpoenaed the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney's office Wednesday, demanding documents and elevating the confrontation with President Bush over the administration's warrant-free eavesdropping on Americans.

  Yahoo

Game on.

Separately, the Senate Judiciary Committee also is summoning Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to discuss the program and an array of other matters that have cost a half-dozen top Justice Department officials their jobs, committee chairman Patrick Leahy announced.

Check.

Also named in subpoenas signed by Leahy were the Justice Department and the National Security Council. The four parties have until July 18 to comply.

[...]

"If there have been lies told to us, we'll refer it to the Department of Justice and the U.S. attorney for whatever legal action they think is appropriate," Leahy told reporters.

Square one.

There for a minute, I thought we might have a game. Whatever legal action the DoJ thinks is appropriate? And, tell me again who the head of the DoJ is....some guy named Gonzales, isn't it?

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.