Ethics

How Will Obama Go on Subpoena Case?

By Ed Brayton

The D.C. Appeals Court has granted the DOJ another week's extension to consider their response to the case involving congressional subpoenas of former Bush advisers Harriet Miers, Josh Bolten and Karl Rove. Those subpoenas came from Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, who is intent on investigating possible wrongdoing in the firing of 9 U.S. Attorneys.

This court case is a lawsuit by Conyers seeking to force the former Bush advisers to comply with the subpoenas and testify before the committee. The Bush administration argued that none of the advisers could be forced to testify, asserting executive privilege. The district court rejected that argument, thus setting up the appeal. Now it falls on the Obama administration to decide whether to support Bush's assertions of executive privilege or argue against them; the appeals court has now given them until March 4 to file their response briefs.

Full post as published by Dispatches from the Culture Wars on February 28, 2009 (boomark / email).