A federal judge on Thursday rejected President George W. Bush’s contention that senior White House advisers are immune from subpoenas, siding with the Congress’ power to investigate the executive branch and handing a victory to Democrats probing the dismissal of nine federal prosecutors.
The unprecedented ruling undercut three presidential confidants who have defied congressional subpoenas for information that Bush says is protected by executive privilege. Democrats swiftly announced they would schedule hearings next month, at the height of campaign season before November elections.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House of Representatives could soon vote on a contempt citation against one of the three officials, Karl Rove, formerly Bush’s top adviser.
“It certainly strengthens our hand,” she said of the ruling.
“This decision should send a clear signal to the Bush administration that it must cooperate fully with Congress and that former administration officials Harriet Miers and Karl Rove must testify before Congress,” she said.
That wasn’t clear at all to the White House or Rove’s attorney.
Bush administration lawyers were reviewing the ruling and were widely expected to appeal. They also could seek a stay that would suspend any further congressional proceedings.
“We disagree with the district court’s decision,” White House Spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
With only a few months left in Bush’s presidency, there appeared to be no sense of urgency to make the next move.
“I have not yet talked with anyone at the White House ... and don’t expect that this matter will be finally resolved in the very near future,” Rove attorney Robert Luskin said in an e-mail.
The case marked the first time Congress ever has gone to court to demand the testimony of White House aides.
In his ruling, US District Judge John Bates said there’s no legal basis for Bush’s argument and that his former legal counsel, Miers, must appear before Congress. If she wants to refuse to testify, he said, she must do so in person. The committee has also sought to force White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten to release documents on any role the White House may have played in the prosecutor firings.
The judge said that both Bolten and Miers must give Congress all nonprivileged documents related to the firings.
Bates, who was appointed to the bench by Bush, issued a 93-page opinion that strongly rejected the administration’s legal arguments.
He said the executive branch could not point to a single case in which courts held that White House aides were immune from congressional subpoenas.
“That simple yet critical fact bears repeating: The asserted absolute immunity claim here is entirely unsupported by existing case law,” Bates wrote.
The ruling is a blow to the Bush administration’s efforts to bolster the power of the executive branch at the expense of the legislative branch. Disputes over congressional subpoenas are normally resolved through political compromise, not through the court system. Had Bush prevailed, it would have dramatically weakened congressional authority in oversight investigations.
Congressional Democrats called the ruling a ringing endorsement of the principle that nobody is above the law. Shortly after the ruling, the chairmen of the House and Senate judiciary committees quickly demanded that the White House officials subpoenaed appear before their panels.
Democratic Representative John Conyers, chairman of the House panel, signaled that hearings would commence next month on the controversy that scandalized the Department of Justice and led to the resignation of a longtime presidential confidant, attorney general Alberto Gonzales.
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