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Why Harriet's Got What the HJC Wants
Now that we have a partial decision on House Judiciary Committee v. Harriet Miers et al. , maybe it's a good time for a little refresher on why the HJC wanted White House documents and Miers' testimony in the first place.
Miers name came up repeatedly over the course of congressional investigations into the U.S. attorney firing scandal, over her communications with former Chief of Staff to the Attorney General, Kyle Sampson.
Those communications revealed that Sampson and Miers began exchanging emails discussing the dismissal of U.S. attorneys, almost two years before those attorneys were purged from the department in December 2007. In March 2006, Sampson famously sent an email to Miers, ranking all of the sitting U.S. attorneys in order of "loyalty to the Attorney General."
Though Miers initially suggested that all 93 U.S. attorneys be dismissed, Sampson vetoed that idea, with the approval of the Attorney General, and arranged for limited dismissals, ultimately providing Miers with a seven person list of targeted candidates to be considered for removal.
Outside of the emails, others were observing politicization first hand. In the late summer of 2006, U.S. Attorney John McKay, who would be requested to resign just a few months later, described sitting down with Miers and others for an interview on a federal judgeship. McKay was asked, "why Republicans in the state of Washington would be angry" with him in regards to his failure to prosecute allegations of voter fraud in the 2004 Washington gubernatorial race.
A few months before the U.S. attorneys were asked to resign, in September of 2006, Sampson again emailed Miers another list of possibilities, this time with nine people listed.
The majority of this information and correspondence came out in the testimony of Sampson and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee in the spring of 2007.
Naturally all of this piqued the interest of the House Judiciary Committee, who were also investigating the U.S. attorney firings. They subpoenaed Miers to testify, and requested relevant documents from the White House. Miers and Bolten, on behalf of the White House, both claimed executive privilege in late June, with Miers even refused to show up to the Congressional hearing.
This ticked off House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) who held both Miers and Bolten in contempt. As we discussed yesterday, the contempt vote then went to the full House for a vote, where it was upheld, and the lawsuit was filed.





Comments (14)
And plus, the DEMs now have a lwgal system verified reason to open impeachment hearing on Mukasey for failure to perform and possibly conspiracy to commit and . . .
July 31, 2008 6:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Now why can't Madam Speaker at the very least have the Turdblossom arrested by the Sargent at Arms and held in Contempt of Congress -down in the basement until this Congress adjourns .I mean what the hell happened to the fIGHTING Dems we were promised in 2006 .??!!!
As a sidebar former US Attorney David Inglesias was on NPR Radio Times - and he is equally baffled as to why Madam Speaker is so meek .
My own strong conviction is that there are very ,very few GOP supporters that would stand up and defend this bunch .IMHO it would actually be a winning political fight to pick with the remnants of this failed and criminal enterprise aka gwb43..
I just finished Mayer's Darkside , think I'll buy Mr Ingleisas's book next its called In Justice .
BTW -Mr Inglesias gave a shout out to his favorite blog today on the radio - he bragged about TPM Muckracker -( BUYAWH ! )
July 31, 2008 7:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Al in Austex:
You don't think that just maybe, Pelosi has been illegally wiretapped by the NSA (Republican party) and there is something in her past that they are holding over her head?
That would be the perfect explanation for why "Impeachment is off the Table".
.
August 1, 2008 9:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
You know, I am going to hold a 3 day party when Harriet is disbarred.
she ought to have been disciplined just for the contempt citation, but I bet the State Bar of Texas didn't. I think I'd like to know, and I know I can find out.
But really, on to bigger and better things - disbarment.
I want Harriet and Gonzo thrown out of practice- it's a goddamn embarrassment to every lawyer in Texas that they haven't been.
July 31, 2008 8:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
The glassy doll's eyes...the smothering adulation of W in her cards to him...the clutching to stacks of paperwork as though it were a life preserver...the inability to comprehend the damage she's done...
This personality was stamped out by the hundreds when W was illegally appointed president, taking up leadership positions throughout our govt, and cuasing its deliberate disassembly.
Disbarred? At the least. Jail is what is called for, and for more than just Scarriet.
August 1, 2008 11:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
As of January 20, 2009, the President will be Barack Obama. His Attorney General will enforce the intent and letter of the law and enable congress to exercise oversight of the Executive Branch of government. Bush administration officials and employees will receive invitations and subpoenas to testify before congressional committees where they will have no choice but to either provide testimony or invoke their Fifth Amendment right or be held in inherent contempt of congress and sent to jail and face charges after prolonged investigations. White House officials and those they worked with will receive subpoenas to testify before special prosecutors and grand juries concerning investigations into the politicizing of government agencies, the politically motivated firings of United States Attorneys, conspiracy to falsely prosecute Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, the outing of a covert CIA agent for political purposes, taking America to war under false pretenses, the loss, hiding and destruction of millions of White House emails......and the list goes on and on. As of January 20, 2009, Bush Republicans are going to have to face the fact that their futures are going to be based on truth and facts rather than lies and cover-ups. Let's see how Bush Republicans act when the only things that can save them is either their innocence or their knowledge of who is guilty. To those who would suggest that the Democrats lack the will to put our country through the painful and divisive exposure of the Bush administration’s corruptions, abuses and illegal actions, I would point out that the Democrats cannot afford to allow the precedents set by the corruptions, abuses and or illegal actions of president Bush and vice president Cheney to go unchallenged or unresolved in order to insure that future administrations are not tempted to repeat them. And the fact that the 2010 elections will be critical in gaining or maintaining a 60/40 filibuster-proof senate majority for Democrats, there would be political value in the exposure of Bush administration malfeasances enabled by Republican Senators.
August 1, 2008 11:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
America must do what you describe, or even a President Obama will be tempted to use the terrible powers stolen by the current criminal enterprise posing as a presidency.
There will be no pardons if this is done right. Just need to keep the poweder dry a little longer, and keep amassing evidence and testimony.
I predict the Sielgelman case that will be the primary battering ram used by the next Congress. He's a public face -- and a former state Governor -- who can begin to bring this home.
August 1, 2008 11:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm in line with Johan on this. I have for many months had that same feeling. They've got her or someone close to her under their hammer.
Wire tap, some covert Poindexter or Liddy type activities, Confidential Informant, disgruntled former associate, what ever...
LBJ would say "Someone has her pecker in their pocket".
August 1, 2008 11:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
Sampson not only identified "underperforming" USAs but in a memo to Miers he identified several who were described as good prosecutors, good managers, and displayed loyalty to the AG and President. One of these was Steven J. Murphy III from Michigan. Odd thing is, he received this glowing review a week before he became the USA. He spearheaded, and lost, several high profile prosecutions, Carl Marlinga, Geoffrey Fieger and Richard Convertino. He will now be a federal judge.
August 1, 2008 11:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
Johan
Madam Speaker may very well be compromised . GWB 43 was illegally wiretapping before 9-11.We need to remove Madam Speaker in any event ...
August 1, 2008 7:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Give it a rest. The speaker elections will occur in January. Attempt to push your paranoia then.
August 1, 2008 10:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
The idea that it would require a massive conspiracy, with its attendant weak links and moles, to target and neutralize a few select persons is false.
And it needn't be direct. What are Mr. Pelosi's involvements, as example?
If not that, then what explanation for the baffling inaction of Congress do you have, JamesDD?
August 2, 2008 11:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
JNagarya,
Pelosi is a skilled politician and she did not get to where she is by doing rash and politically risky moves. The simple fact is that the congressional leadership is not willing to take steps forward for impeachment due to what they perceive would be the public backlash.
Pelosi surely remembers the debacle of the clinton impeachment and how it ended up hurting congressional support in favor of the president. She also probably remembers the polarization that occurred after watergate. With these memories, she and her leadership team seems unwilling to move unless a smoking gun is found.
This is my opinion. It also could be that the president has dirt on Pelosi and he is blackmailing her. While such views make great movies and books, they usually do not really hold up in the real world. Hey but you could be right.
August 3, 2008 11:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
JNagarya
What if the spirit and intent of the CoInterpol program from the Nixon era , has now been wed with Poindxter's Total Information Awareness program -it would be pretty easy to abuse this type of power -and get the goods on your opponents-including but not limited to Madam Speaker .My money is gwb 43 was doing this before the attacks on 9-11 , and thats the real reason they have gone to the mattresses to make sure the telcom's have immunity - they don't want it known that we were being spied on before the Twin Towers were attacked ..
August 3, 2008 12:49 PM | Reply | Permalink