July 20, 2007

Bolten Faces Contempt Charge, But WH Says No

White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten is staring down a predicament that many of his fellow administration members (past and present) have faced in recent months: subpoenas for information over the U.S. attorney firings last year.

Bolten, again like many of his compatriots, argued that he did not have to provide a House panel with subpoenaed documents because he was protected by executive privilege -- invoked most recently, in different ways, by former White House aides Harriet Miers and Sara Taylor. A House panel rejected that claim, voting 7 to 3 that Bolten was not protected by President Bush's order and threatening him with contempt of Congress if he didn't produce the documents.

But the White House struck back in a different way yesterday when administration officials announced that the Justice Department would not be allowed to pursue the contempt charges once Bush issued the executive order. This new claim -- deemed a "bold new assertion" by the Washington Post -- represents a ratcheting up of the battle between Bush and congressional Democrats.

(White House photo by David Bohrer)

Posted at 3:13 PM
Posted to: Attorney Scandal, Bush Administration, Congress, President Bush
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