Goodling fails to turn over documents subpoenaed by House committee

Goodling fails to turn over documents subpoenaed by House committee
Michael RostonPublished: Tuesday May 22, 2007


Former top Justice Department aide Monica Goodling was chided by the House Judiciary Committee for failing to turn over documents that had been subpoenaed as part of the investigation into the firing of 8 US Attorneys. Goodling is set to testify before the Committee on Wednesday.

"I am concerned, however, about your statement that Ms. Goodling is going to refuse to produce documents in her possession that are responsive to the subpoena," Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), the committee's chairman, wrote to Goodling's attorney John Dowd.

In responding to an argument made by Dowd on why Goodling did not need to turn the documents over, he added, "We are aware of no authority that permits internal Department administrative regulation to allow a former employee of the Department of Justice, or any other person, to avoid the subpoena power of the House of Representatives, as that power is central to the House's ability to carry out its Constitutional oversight mandate and certainly trumps internal agency regulations."

At issue were a set of documents that Dowd, an attorney for the Washington, DC law firm Akin, Gump, Straus, Hauer, and Feld, acknowledged his client possessed.

"Ms. Goodling has copies of other electronic documents and emails that would be responsive to the Committee's subpoena but which are copies of official Department of Justice documents, including un-redacted copies of documents produced to date only in redacted form," wrote Dowd with additional counsel.