If you want to know the value of congressional investigations, you need go no further than Watergate.

Take a look at this discussion from C-SPAN http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&cPath=18_20&products_id=204678-1

There would have been no mechanism for shutting Nixon down without congressional investigations.

All these investigations going on now are essential. Yeah, lots of people get snarky about "sternly worded letters," but there were plenty of those before the big hearings could be held back in 1973.

Having the USAs supporting the congressional subpoenas is very valuable. They were part of the Executive branch, so they are in a perfect position to understand what is and isn't valid for the Executive to withhold, and to advise the Congress it has the right and duty to investigate.

What does any of this matter when you have a judge as corrupt and sleazy as John D. Bates, who will never use precedent or facts or competent analysis when it could damage republicans? John D. Bates has to be one of the worst, sleaziest, most degraded judges out there--up there with Antonin Scalia when it comes to twisting the law to further extreme right-wing goals.

It's way past time to dust off the power of Congress to charge defiant loyal Bushies with "inherent contempt" -

Under the inherent contempt power, the individual is brought before the House or Senate by the Sergeant-at-Arms, tried at the bar of the body, and can be imprisoned. The purpose of the imprisonment or other sanction may be either punitive or coercive. Thus, the witness can be imprisoned for a specified period of time as punishment, or for an indefinite period (but not, at least in the case of the House, beyond the adjournment of a session of the Congress) until he agrees to comply. The inherent contempt power has been recognized by the Supreme Court as inextricably related to Congress’s constitutionally-based power to investigate.

http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/2007/03/dusting_off_inh.html

And since Congress has to hold "pro forma" sessions now to keep Bush from pulling off recess appointments, they technically hardly EVER adjourn anymore. Can you say, "unlimited detention"? I knew you could.

OK, I'm too lazy and hungry (crap, it's almost 9:00!) to do the research, but I think this is the point where you get your special counsel or independent counsel or whatever on. How the hell did they investigate Bill for all those years? Damn. I'm a lawyer, I should know this.

Basically, DOJ is ignoring Congress. That won't last much longer. But, in my uninformed opinion, Congress should push this now so the ground is prepared when Obama gets into congress. Let's try the bastards when they're private citizens and can't hide behind the effing presidential seal any longer.

LOL, yeah, they can "subpoena" all they want to BUT what they will get is a bunch of lies and mumbo jumbo so why bother.

JJ
http://www.fireme.to/udi

Show me a single case where a mob leader allowed his/her underlings to provide testimony to a grand jury withoutthat underling disappearing, dying or having a sudden change of heart. Crooks do everything they can to prevent others from telling what they know about them. It's no different in this case. When a sitting President and Attorney General abuse the intent and purpose of our Constitution and our the legal system, they should be immediately impeached. The fact that impeachment was taken off the table by pussy-footing Democratic leaders is a disgrace that Democratic leaders should be held accountable for. They should not have eliminated the threat of impeachment. It is there duty as elected officials to stand up and enforce our laws, not provide the means to avoid legitimate accountability because doing so would be costly, inconvenient or politically risky. And now that they're allowed Bush's gang to avoid the investigations and on the record testimony impeachment provides while Bush was in office, they sure as hell better fully and exhaustively investigate and enforce the on the record testimony of every relevant Bush adminstration official and functionary in every suspect area after Bush is gone. If they back off after Bush is gone, they should be condemned by their constituencies and voted out of office during their next election. Democrats can't allow even the possiblity of any president avoiding Congressional oversight like George W. Bush has.

I, for one, just want to see that man/woman Harriet Miers frog-marched to a court room somewhere and then after being found guilty sent right off to a jail. how smug of that woman. she had the temerity, the nerve, the gall to accept Bush's nomination to be on the Supreme Court when she knew, she knew, there were more qualified people than her. Bush wanted to be 'comfortable' by picking her, someone he knew, never mind the Supreme Court is not his 'plaything' to do with as he pleased. But she could never say no to him, so she arrogantly said yes. And she was rightly embarrassed by the ensuing conservative backlash at him and her. I have no use for her.