Pelosi: I’m Going To Sue The White House
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday she intends to sue the Bush administration in response to Attorney General Michael Mukasey’s refusal to refer the House’s contempt citations against two of President Bush’s top aides to a federal grand jury.
Pelosi, in a written statement, accused the administration of “continuing to politicize law enforcement.”
“The House has already provided authority for the Judiciary Committee to file a civil enforcement action in federal district court and the House shall do so promptly,” she said. “As public officials, we take an oath to uphold the Constitution and protect our system of checks and balances and our civil lawsuit seeks to do just that.”
The White House countered with its own pledge to fight House leaders to the end.
“If Speaker Pelosi insists on taking this case to a court, they will be met with opposition at the courthouse door and at every step of any court case,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto said. “The president’s case is strong, and he would not have asserted executive privilege if he did not believe he would prevail in the face of attempts to challenge his decision.”
Pelosi’s statement closely followed Mukasey’s letter to her Friday saying White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former presidential counsel Harriet Miers were right in refusing to provide Congress White House documents or testify about the firings of federal prosecutors.
Mukasey says they committed no crime.
“The department will not bring the congressional contempt citations before a grand jury or take any other action to prosecute Mr. Bolten or Ms. Miers,” Mukasey wrote House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The House voted two weeks ago to cite Bolten and Mukasey for contempt of Congress and seek a grand jury investigation. Most Republicans boycotted the vote.
Pelosi requested the grand jury investigation on Thursday and gave Mukasey a week to reply. She said the House would file a civil suit seeking enforcement of the contempt citations if federal prosecutors declined to seek misdemeanor charges against Bolten and Miers.
Mukassey took only a day to get back to her. But he had earlier joined his predecessor, Alberto Gonzales, in telling lawmakers they would refuse to refer any contempt citations to prosecutors because Bolten and Miers were acting at Bush’s instruction.
A civil suit would drag out a slow-motion crawl to a constitutional struggle between a Democratic-run Congress and a Republican White House that has been simmering for more than a year. Any court showdown might not occur until Bush is out of office in 14 months.
Democrats say Bush’s instructions to Miers and Bolten to ignore the House Judiciary Committee’s subpoenas was an abuse of power and an effort to block an effort to find out whether the White House directed the firing of nine U.S. attorneys in 2006 for political reasons.
Republicans call the whole affair a political game and walked out of the House vote on the contempt citations in protest.
The 223-32 House vote on a resolution approving the contempt citations Feb. 14 was the first of its type in 25 years. The White House pointed out that it was the first time that such action had been taken against top White House officials who had been instructed by the president to remain silent to preserve executive privilege.
In his letter, received by the House early Friday evening, Mukasey pointed out that not only was Miers directed not to testify, she also was immune from congressional subpoenas and was right to not show up to the hearing to which she had been summoned.
“The contempt of Congress statute was not intended to apply and could not constitutionally be applied to an executive branch official who asserts the president’s claim of executive privilege,” Mukasey wrote, quoting Justice policy.
“Accordingly,” Mukasey concluded, “the department has determined that the noncompliance by Mr. Bolten and Ms. Miers with the Judiciary Committee subpoenas did not constitute a crime.”
(Fox)
Nods to Paslode.
Be respectful of others and their opinions. Inflammatory remarks and inane leftist drivel will be deleted. It ain’t about free speech, remember you’re in a private domain. My website, my prerogative.
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There’s a Rock n Roll King in my neck of the woods … PA. dude by the name of Donnie Iris …
Nancy, the White House has made a song request … and it goes like this:
“I Can’t (fucking) Hear You (bitch)”
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hiGJxbdNz5M
February 29th, 2008 at 9:33 pmI gotta get photoshop!
February 29th, 2008 at 9:37 pmThe House has already provided authority for the Judiciary Committee to file a civil enforcement action in federal district court and the House shall do so promptly,” she said. “As public officials, we take an oath to uphold the Constitution and protect our system of checks and balances and our civil lawsuit seeks to do just that.”
Me: Bitch you could care less about the Constitution. What you are Nasti, is a small-minded little toadie who never grew up. Little idiots like you should never have power. You’re too immature to use it properly.
Number two…check out your nose Pinnochio…it’s growing again.
March 1st, 2008 at 4:27 amSo Pelosi wants what, to be legislator, executive and judiciary? Separation of powers exists for a reason.
March 1st, 2008 at 6:51 amPelosi: “As public officials, we take an oath to uphold the Constitution and protect our system of checks and balances and our civil lawsuit seeks to do just that.”
Hmmm, is that why the existing laws they passed to protect the sovereignty of the U.S. at the borders is not being enforced by the same body they are part of that passed those laws into existence?
What about the integrity of the new majority in Congress who sold voters before the elections two Novembers ago that they would make their body’s governance transparent? What about their promise to lower the price of gasoline? What about… on and on?
I didn’t realize that outright lying and ineptitude by those voted into office were part of the Constitution.
March 1st, 2008 at 10:53 amgood grief and i thought our lot were bad
March 1st, 2008 at 1:51 pm