The Secrecy File

The Secrecy File

Daily developments about the growing level of secrecy in the federal government and how it impacts the public's right to know.

RSS feed

• XML RSS feed for this blog

What's on this page →

The entry titled "Pelosi plans to file lawsuit to enforce WH subpoenas," and any of the comments about it.

Categories

Recent entries

• "Landslide losers" not on Democratic primetime convention program
• NOOSE ALLEGEDLY FOUND AT SECRET SERVICE TRAINING CENTER
• GAO assesses FOIA progress
• The House Judiciary Committee demands answers on torture
• Mississippi Justice
• The Justice Department fights PR battle over media shield bill
• Sunlight Foundation's new tool rivals K Street lobbyists
• More entries...

Home > The Secrecy File > Archives > 2008 > March > 06 > Entry

Pelosi plans to file lawsuit to enforce WH subpoenas

By Rebecca Carr | Thursday, March 6, 2008, 04:03 PM

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., did not mince words today about her intention to force the Bush White House to cough up top confidantes in the congressional investigation into whether nine U.S. attorneys were improperly fired for cracking down on Republican lawmakers and failing to pursue Democrats just before the hotly contested 2006 election.

The House passed a contempt resolution last month against Joshua B. Bolton, White House chief of staff, and Harriet Miers, the former counsel to the president, for failing to respond to subpoenas issued by the House Judiciary Committee in the inquiry.

Pelosi referred the contempt citation to Jeffrey A. Taylor, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, but there is no sign that he intends to oppose his boss, Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey, by convening a grand jury on the matter. That leaves Pelosi no other option than taking the matter to the courts. “I do intend to authorize House General Counsel Irv Nathan to file a suit in federal court to seek enforcement of the subpoenas,” said Pelosi, speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill today.

In making her decision, Pelosi noted that 17 Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee recorded their dissenting views to the contempt citation that cleared the Judiciary panel last summer.

At the time, the Republican members said an alternative to issuing a contempt citation would be to bring enforcement action in federal court, Pelosi said.

“So there should be no dispute for this action. This is what we are doing,” Pelosi said. “By blocking the enforcement of the subpoenas, the attorney general overstepped his authority in the face of clear statute.”

Permalink | Comments (2) |