Re: US judge: White House aides can be subpoenaed
- From: al Guacamole <aet@xxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:31:07 -0700 (PDT)
On Jul 31, 6:03 am, Florida <demeter547op...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080731/ap_on_go_ot/congress_contempt
Yahoo! News
US judge: White House aides can be subpoenaed
By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer 12 minutes ago
President Bush's top advisers are not immune from congressional
subpoenas, a federal judge ruled Thursday in an unprecedented dispute
between the two political branches.
House Democrats called the ruling a ringing endorsement of the
principle that nobody is above the law.
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge John Bates said there's no legal
basis for Bush's argument and that his former legal counsel, Harriet
Miers, must appear before Congress. If she wants to refuse to testify,
he said, she must do so in person. The committee also has sought to
force testimony from White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten.
"Harriet Miers is not immune from compelled congressional process; she
is legally required to testify pursuant to a duly issued congressional
subpoena," Bates wrote. He said that both Bolten and Miers must give
Congress all non-privileged documents related to the firings.
The ruling is a blow to the Bush administration's efforts to bolster
the power of the executive branch at the expense of the legislative
branch. Disputes over congressional subpoenas are normally resolved
through political compromise, not through the court system. Had Bush
prevailed, it would have dramatically weakened congressional authority
in oversight investigations.
The administration can appeal the ruling.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called it "very good news for anyone
who believes in the Constitution of the United States and the
separation of powers, and checks and balances."
Democrats swiftly pledged to call Miers before the Judiciary Committee
as soon as September to testify about whether the White House played
any role in the firings of nine U.S. attorney's last year.
Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., said he hoped that
Miers and Bolten do not appeal the ruling, but that was far from
clear.
White House spokesman Tony Fratto and Justice Department spokesman
Peter Carr said they were reviewing the opinion and declined immediate
comment.
Nonetheless, Conyers signaled election-season hearings will be held on
the controversy that scandalized the Justice Department and led to the
resignation of a longtime presidential confidant, Attorney General
Alberto Gonzales.
"We look forward to the White House complying with this ruling and to
scheduling future hearings with Ms. Miers and other witnesses who have
relied on such claims," Conyers said in a statement. "We hope that the
defendants will accept this decision and expect that we will receive
relevant documents and call Ms. Miers to testify in September."
Bates, who was appointed to the bench by Bush, issued a 93-page
opinion that strongly rejected the administration's legal arguments.
He noted that the executive branch could not point to a single case in
which courts held that White House aides were immune from
congressional subpoenas.
"That simple yet critical fact bears repeating: the asserted absolute
immunity claim here is entirely unsupported by existing case law,"
Bates wrote.
___
Associated Press reporter Laurie Kellman contributed to this story.
Great article. If aides are immune, then there's no end to it. A major
portion of the govt could claim appointment by the President and
immunity from prosecution.
.
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