The good news is the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a big batch of subpoenas this morning as part of the investigation into the prosecutor purge scandal. The bad news is some of the administration officials who need to appear before the committee weren’t on today’s list.
The Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday cleared the way for subpoenas compelling five Justice Department officials and six of the U.S. attorneys they fired to tell the story of the purge that has prompted demands for the ouster of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
The voice vote to authorize the panel to issue subpoenas amounts to insurance against the possibility that Gonzales could retract his permission to let the aides testify voluntarily, or impose strict conditions.
The committee also postponed for a week a vote on whether to authorize subpoenas of top aides to President Bush who were involved in the eight firings, including political adviser Karl Rove, former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and deputy White House Counsel William K. Kelley.
First, let’s look at who’s going to testify. Committee members approved subpoenas for key Justice Department officials involved in the scandal, including Kyle Sampson (Gonzales’ former chief of staff), Michael Elston (staff chief to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, and the guy who allegedly threatened fired prosecutors), Monica Goodling (Gonzales’ senior counsel and White House liaison), Bill Mercer (associate attorney general), and Mike Battle (departing director of the office that oversees all 93 U.S. attorneys).
Six of the eight purged prosecutors (Lam, Cummins, Charlton, McKay, Bogden, and Iglesias) will also testify again.
3 comments:
Bush will have to change that law right away. Subpoena power is alive an well. Fitz could be called for facts not opinions. Fact the White House planned the leak, fact everybody lied to obstruct the investigation. Fact Cheney and Rove will the major players. Fact Bush ok'ed the plan but was to drunk and high to get involved. Fact if the plan didn't work Halliburton wouldn't be able to have the CEO steal all the money from the US Treasury. Fact we wouldn't be in this mess now.
Jackie, I adore you and your comments!
All kinds of unexplainable happening have been goin on with this administration, starting with the first election, exit polls have been accurate for some many elections up until the Gerbil election.......and it keeps going after that. I am just hoping that there is one squealer or more that will come out of the woodwork, but they, I am sure, are all paid off and threatend.
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