Tag: Harriet Miers

Via the Washington Post, the House Judiciary Committee has released transcripts of Karl Rove and Harriet Miers' testimony and emails in its investigation into the firing of U.S. Attorneys.

You can access them here. Rep. John Conyers concludes: [More...]

Today I remembered this blogger conference call with Sen. Charles Schumer in 2005 over President Bush's judicial nominees.

Sen. Schumer was emphatic in his remarks to us. He said the hard right, both economic and religious, has decided that the only way to push their agenda through is to control the courts. If they win and gain control of the courts, both economically and socially, they will roll back America to the 1930's or the 1890's.

He said that the hard right made a deal with George Bush during the election. It would support him and "not hound him", but he had to cede control of his judicial nominations to the Federalist Society.

That's the reward (in addition to enthusiastically supporting his election) I would bet the radical right is offering John McCain. When you see reports of his campaign coffers growing due to Gov. Palin, the picture comes into closer focus. [More...]

A federal judge in Washington today ruled against former Bush White House Counsel Harriet Miers and former White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolton in a lawsuit filed by the House Judiciary Committee. (See also, Dan Froomkin on the White House Immune Deficiency and Marcy Wheeler).

The Committee subpoenaed Ms. Miers to testify in the U.S. Attorney firing scandal. It also subpoenaed He a privilege log from Mr. Bolton. At the direction of President Bush, Miers and Bolton claimed that presidential aides are immune from congressional subpoenas based on principles of separation of powers and presidential autonomy.

The Court today ruled for the Judiciary Committee and rejected the immunity claim. The 93 page opinion is here.

The decision did not address Miers' and Boltons' claims of executive privilege, only immunity.[More...]

By a vote of 223 to 32, the House of Representatives today voted to hold former Bush White House Counsel Harriet Miers and Bush's Chief of Staff Josh Bolton in contempt for refusing to respond to a subpoena issued in the U.S. Attorney firing probe. Republicans boycotted the vote and walked out in protest.

It's been 25 years since a full Congress last voted on a contempt charge. In 1983,

The House voted 413-0 to cite former Environmental Protection Agency official Rita Lavelle for contempt of Congress for refusing to appear before a House committee. Lavelle was later acquitted in court of the contempt charge, but she was convicted of perjury in a separate trial.

It's the lie that gets them every time. Far better to take the 5th or face a contempt charge. This will take years to resolve in the courts, by which time everyone will have forgotten about why it was so important.