WHITE HOUSE SUBPOENAED OVER 'ATTORNEYGATE'

First issuing of 'Attorneygate' subpoenas to White House
Michael Roston
Published: Wednesday June 13, 2007

This article has been updated to reflect official releases from the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.

Two former White House officials will face subpoenas for their involvement in the firing of 8 US Attorneys earlier this year. RAW STORY has confirmed with House Judiciary Committee staff that House investigators will issue a subpoena for Harriet Miers, former White House Counsel, and the Senate will issue a subpoena for Sara Taylor, a former top aide to Karl Rove. Both committees also sought a variety of documents from the White House.

"Let me be clear: this subpoena is not a request, it is a demand on behalf of the American people for the White House...to help us answer the questions that remain," said Rep. John Conyers (D-MI). "The breadcrumbs in this investigation have always led to 1600 Pennsylvania. This investigation will not end until the White House complies with the demands of this subpoena in a timely and reasonable manner so that we may get to the bottom of this."

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) also accused the White House of seeking confrontation.
"By refusing to cooperate with congressional committees, the White House continues its pattern of confrontation over cooperation, and those who suffer most in this case are the public and the hard-working people at the Department of Justice," said Leahy, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "The White House cannot have it both ways -- it cannot stonewall congressional investigations by refusing to provide documents and witnesses, while claiming nothing improper occurred....Some at the White House may hope to thwart our constitutional oversight efforts by locking the doors and closing the curtains, but we will keep asking until we get to the truth."

White House responds to subpoenas

In response, spokesman Tony Snow said the White House is "aware of the judiciary committee plans to issue subpoenas and will respond appropriately."

"The committees can easily obtain the facts they want without confrontation by simply accepting our offer for documents and interviews but it's clear that Senator Leahy and Representative Conyers are more interested in drama than facts," Snow added.
In a letter sent to the House Judiciary Committee on June 7, White House Counsel Fred Fielding made it clear that he would not make any White House staff available for on the record, sworn testimony on a voluntary basis.

"We think the Committees' suggested next steps in this matter must be fairly assessed against the backdrop of the extraordinary access acquired to date and the absence of any evidence of wrongdoing by White House officials," President Bush's counsel wrote. "The President has proposed an accommodation that would provide the Committees with still more information on the US Attorneys matter...It is difficult to see how this proposal will not provide your Committees with all the information necessary to evaluate the White House's connection to the Department's request for US Attorney resignations."

He also expressed his "strong hope that the Committees will not feel compelled to elevate the stakes by pursuing the path of subpoenas and compulsory process referred to in your recent letters."

Senator Leahy slammed Fielding for his reasoning in a response today.

"In response to our efforts to narrow our dispute by gaining access to documents you agreed to produce as part of your offer for off-the-record interviews or to information that forms the basis of the President’s conclusion that no wrongdoing has occurred, you have merely restated your initial, unacceptable offer," the Senate Chairman wrote. "The White House cannot have it both ways -- it cannot withhold documents and witnesses and thereby stonewall the investigation and, at the same time, claim that the facts about the White House’s improper influence over federal law enforcement have not been revealed in detail."

He continued, "The White House’s continued stonewalling leads to the obvious conclusion that the White House is hiding the truth because there is something to hide. Because the White House has continued its refusal to provide the requested information to the Senate Judiciary Committee on a voluntary basis, I am issuing subpoenas."

Rep. Conyers also stated that he did not believe the White House's earlier offer for cooperation was reasonable.

"In view of the compelling need for relevant information, your 'all or nothing' proposal remains completely unacceptable, as we have previously stated," he wrote. "Conducting interviews without a transcript in a matter of this complexity and scope is likely to lead to unnecessary confusion and factual disputes down the road. It is even more problematic to try to limit the scope of document production and interviews to communications between the White House and outside parties."

Taylor set to testify before Senate Committee July 11

Sara Taylor, the former Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Political Affairs, reported to Karl Rove in the White House. She has been subpoenaed by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and is scheduled to testify before it on July 11.

Taylor reportedly 'cleared out her office' at the end of May. E-mails released yesterday depicted her extensive involvement in the firing of at least one US Attorney, Bud Cummins from the Eastern District of Arkansas.

Senator Leahy excoriated Taylor for failing to provide answers to inquiries sent to her in April.
"I received no response from you to my April 11 letter seeking your voluntary cooperation with the Senate Judiciary Committee’s ongoing investigation of the firings and replacements of a number of United States Attorneys," he wrote. "It is now clear from the evidence gathered by the investigating Committees of the Senate and House that, at the time you were White House Director of Political Affairs, you and other White House officials played a significant role in originating, developing, coordinating and implementing the plan and the Justice Department’s response to congressional inquiries about it."

Miers set to testify before House Committee July 12

Harriet Miers has been subpoenaed by House investigators. She has been asked to testify on July 12 at the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.

Miers, a one-time pick for the Supreme Court by President George W. Bush, served as White House Counsel until January when she stepped down and was replaced by Fred Fielding. Miers is known to have been extensively involved in the firing of the US Attorneys, with Kyle Sampson, the former chief of staff to the Attorney General, telling the Senate Judiciary Committee that he often discussed the firing of Attorneys with her informally after weekly Judicial Selection Committee meetings at the White House.

RAW STORY's coverage of the Justice Department's release of documents Tuesday night, which show Taylor and Mier's involvement in the firings of the US Attorneys, can be read at this link.