White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolton and White House Counsel Harriet Miers have been for refusing to comply with subpoenas issued in connection with the US attorney firing scandal. This move by the House Judiciary Committee, headed by John Conyers, now brings the matter to a full House vote. If passed in the House, the contempt charges will move to the Senate. If the Senate votes in favor, the two White House members could face fines and (between one and twelve months) for obstructing the work of Congress.
This morning, the Editorial Board supported Conyers' contempt decision, and wrote that the White House wouldn't be in this mess if they didn't use the Justice Department as their political arm:
They had no right to refuse. Congress has the legal power to callwitnesses to testify, and presidential advisers are not exempt.Conservative lawyers like Bruce Fein agree that the administration’sclaims of executive privilege are baseless. If the White House believesspecific matters are privileged, it needs to make those limited claims.
Such defiance is not only illegal, it has seriously obstructedCongress’s ability to get to the bottom of the United States attorneysscandal. It now appears that the scandal reaches beyond the ninefederal prosecutors who were fired for refusing to allow their officesto be politicized. It seems quite possible that others, includingGeorgia Thompson, a civil servant in Wisconsin, and Don Siegelman, aformer governor of Alabama, were put in prison — and Mr. Siegelmanremains there — to help Republicans win elections.
Just asimportant, by ignoring valid Congressional subpoenas, Ms. Miers and Mr.Bolten are dangerously challenging Congress’s power — and the carefulsystem of checks and balances established by the founders.
Is it just me who thinks this, or are Henry Waxman and John Conyers the only House members actually doing anything?
The Senate Judiciary Committee today took their biggest step in uncovering the mystery behind the fired US Attorneys. They subpoenaed White House Adviser Karl Rove and his deputy, Scott Jennings. Rove and Jennings will be forced to show up at a . It is expected that the Bush Administration will fight this subpoena.
Here is a quick refresher of Congress' busy week, spearheaded by Senator (D-VT) and House Rep. (D-MI):
MONDAY: House Judiciary Committee handed down against former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and current White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolton.
TUESDAY: Senate Judiciary Committee confronted Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, as he from both Republican and Democrat committee members.
WEDNESDAY: Alberto Gonzales' testimony the day before was by federal documents. Lawmakers raised the concern that Gonzales could face perjury charges.
THURSDAY: Senate Judiciary Committee .
UPDATE (4:00 PM ET): Here is a handed down by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
House Judiciary Committee Chariman John Conyers is absolutely livid about yesterday's mishap on Fox News. On Monday afternoon, Fox News about William Jefferson, who was recently indicted on corruption charges. But instead of using the name 'William Jefferson', they put in 'John Conyers'.
Conyers, who Fox News has always as far-left, is that he was put in the same boat as Jefferson:
"Fox News has a history of inappropriate on-air mistakes that areneither fair, nor balanced. This type of disrespect for people of colorshould no longer be tolerated. I am personally offended by thenetwork's complete disregard for accuracy in reporting and lacklusteron-air apology," said Rep. Conyers in a statement sent to RAW STORY.
Fox News issued a about the video mishap, but did not mention Conyers in the apology, nor did they explain why the false video made it on the air.
By now, it has circulated like a wildfire throughout the progressive blogosphere that House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers is planning to issue a boat-load of subpoenas -- all of which pertain to the sudden firing of eight federal prosecutors. We know for sure that at least six of those eight prosecutors had positive performance ratings. A allows Attorney General Gonzales to hand-nominate new federal prosecutors and have them confirmed without Senate approval.
his decision to issue subpoenas:
"This is the most egregious allegation so far that the Administrationhas allowed partisan politics to corrupt the selection and retention ofU.S. Attorneys. Worse, it appears to be part of a pattern of ofpartisan activity in this area and should be unacceptable to anyoneconcerned about a fair and efficient criminal justice system. TheJudiciary Committee is committed to getting to the bottom of this andbringing checks and balances back to the federal justice system."
Four U.S. Attorneys that were part of the massive wave of firings were among those subpoenaed. They will appear before the House Judiciary Committee on March 6th, which is next week.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is a bit behind, as usual. However, they are also .
Hillary she will wait until the first part of January before making an announcement. Obama will no later than mid-January. Evan Bayh and Tom Vilsack are already in it. But just when you thought that eleven possible Democratic candidates were enough, another individual threw his name into the hat yesterday. U.S. Congressman (D-OH) that he will run in 2008 because he believes his party has done a poor job challenging the President to get troops out of Iraq:
The liberal, anti-war Ohio congressman said he was inspired to runbecause he disagrees with the way some of his fellow Democrats arehandling the war, including approval of a proposal to spend $160billion more on the conflict.
"Democrats were swept into power on Nov. 7 because of widespreadvoter discontent with the war in Iraq," said Kucinich, 60. "Instead ofheeding those concerns and responding with a strong and immediatechange in policies and direction, the Democratic congressionalleadership seems inclined to continue funding the perpetuation of thewar."
His candidacy might have some initial appeal -- that is if he were running against Bush. But when the reality sets in that George W. Bush is not running for reelection, progressive voters might be looking for a fresh face -- which is why Evan Bayh and Barack Obama could have a lot of appeal.
Speaking of Evan Bayh (D-IN), his recent New Hampshire visit was overlooked by the mainstream media because Obama gave a big speech there around the same time. But that didn't stop Bayh from telling New Hampshire voters that his number top issues in 2008 will be global warming and energy independence. He says those issues have bipartisan appeal. The reported on his trip:
"I'd begin with this energy issue, includingglobal warming, because it affects so many important things and becausethere's some common ground there," he said.
Bayhwas hosted by Democratic state senators from Keene and Cornish onSunday, after speaking at a reception in Manchester on Saturday night.
Bayhhas promoted himself as a moderate who can work with Republicans. Hesaid he expected the new Democratic majorities in Congress would makefederal funding for stem cell research one of its their top prioritieswhen it convenes in January.
Back to Obama's New Hampshire trip. reported that the "largest crowd in modern New Hampshire history" saw his speech on Sunday afternoon.
Without further adeiu, here are the weekly rankings for each of the Democratic hopefuls. Dennis Kucinich's name has been added to the list, impacting some of the candidates (Remember, these are rankings based on a political science student's take on who has the best odds, as of now, of winning the Democratic nomination. This is not who I want to win. It is based on who I think has the upper hand on fundraising, appeal in the early primary states, a low unfavorable rating, and the best campaign team.).
Hillary Rodham-Clinton - 24%
Barack Obama - 19%
John Edwards - 15%
Al Gore - 14%
Evan Bayh - 8%
Wesley Clark - 7%
Bill Richardson - 4%
Tom Vilsack - 3%
Joe Biden - 2%
Dennis Kucinich - 2%
John Kerry - 1%
Chris Dodd - 1%
(last week's ) Up a few points is Barack Obama. I was waiting to see what type of a reception he got in New Hampshire. Since the officials up there said it surpassed everything they had predicted, I am giving him an edge of four points on Edwards now, who seems to have hit a brick wall. The former North Carolina Senator's media attention is way down. The media is branding this as a match-up between Clinton and Obama. If Gore gets in the race at the end of the summer, that may destroy any slim chance that Edwards might have. For every day that Obama or Clinton spends in Iowa, Nevada or New Hampshire, John and Elizabeth will need to spend double the time campaigning in those places. Unless either John or Elizabeth write another book soon, their media honeymoon might be over.
Also, if it weren't for the fact that there will be major hearings on Iraq in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when the Democrats take back Congress, then I would put Joe Biden at the very bottom of the list. But those hearings will give him a lot of press coverage, since he is the Chairman of that committee. Still, I see the likelihood of Biden getting nominated as less than Bill Richardson or Wesley Clark.
The chances are that six months, the time between now and the election, is not enough time for the Republicans to substantially rebound in the polls when it comes to the perception of the way they have handled Iraq, gas prices and health care. They need something to jump-start their base. Let's be honest here: if you were a Republican activist, with all that has gone wrong for your party would you really be motivated to go door-belling each day between Labor Day and November? Probably not. This poses a serious problem for Republican Senate and House incumbents, who can't find anything other than and to light a fire under their base.
The solution? It's time for them to go medieval. Expect Republican strategists to encourage their candidates to fight dirty. They know what is at stake. If the Democrats take back the Legislative Branch of government, Bush's final term will pretty much be finished. All the gains for the Republicans since 1994 will be wiped out.
Washington insiders are expecting a haunted house-like approach. Republicans will scare voters this November, warning them that if they vote Democrat then the next two years will be filled with partisan-driven hearings and constant fighting between branches. The biggest threat for the GOP is in the House. If the Democrats grab majority, Representative John Conyers, a vocal critic of the Administration, will be the head of the House Judiciary Committee. He could use his subpoena power to seize pretty much any documents he wanted -- whether Iraq or Cheney's secret meetings with oil industry heads in 2002. In the Senate, there would be parliamentary methods, such as the filibuster, for the GOP to minimize the impact of their minority party status. But in the House, no such filibuster rule exists. The party with majority has complete control over the agenda, which is what makes that chamber of Congress the ultimate prize. The Republicans know it.
Between now and the election, John Conyers will be turned into a monster by right-wing pundits on Fox News and in RNC television ads. They want to present a version of Conyers that makes him out to be a fringe liberal. Putting it simply, Mr. Conyers' blog is actually helping Republicans in their effort to smear him. , his headline reads, "Demand an Investigation of Administration Abuses of Power and Make Recommendations Regarding Grounds for Possible Impeachment." Many Democratic strategists admit that Conyers ought to take that headline off his web site because, after all, he is giving the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee all the ammunition they need.
In 2002, because he voted against a defense bill. Cleland, a Vietnam veteran and also a triple amputee, ended up losing that election. In 2004, John Kerry was attacked by "The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth", which charged that he lied about his medals and abandoned his troops. This year, John Conyers is front and center. He had better be ready because the GOP will throw just about everything at him. At the same time, he needs to be smart about what he says and writes on his web site.
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