by Frank James
Remember that whole tempest over the fired U.S. attorneys? It died down somewhat after Alberto Gonzales, the former attorney general who seemed not to know a whole lot about what was happening inside the Justice Department he was running, exited the scene, stage right.
It’s still a live issue on the Hill, however. The House Judiciary Committee unleashed today an 862-page report spelling out why, the House as a whole, should approve contempt of Congress charges against former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and current White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten.
The panel wants them found in contempt for their failure to turn over subpoenaed documents House Democrats want in order to probe the firings. Democrats have long believed certain White House officials (especially a former one with the initials K.R.) orchestrated the firings because the dismissed federal prosecutors weren’t as partisan in their prosections as was desired.
The White House has claimed the documents, including e-mails sought by the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, are protected by executive privilege.
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Since the curent U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, acting for the Bush Administration, would eventually have to bring the charges before a federal court before Miers and Bolten could be officially found in contempt, the chances of this behemoth of a document actually accomplishing its purposes are about nil.
Here’s a good explainer found on the MSNBC website of the contempt-of-Congress process.