SJC Subpoenas Mukasey for Testimony and OLC DocsAfter the Washington Post beat the Senate Judiciary Committee to memos from the White House to the CIA endorsing interrogation practices, Chairman Patrick Leahy hasn’t been pulling punches.
Today, Leahy issued a subpoena to Attorney Gen. Michael Mukasey demanding that he provide testimony and related documents to the committee about “legal analysis and advice from the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) related to the Bush administration’s terrorism policies, including detention and interrogation policies and practices.” The deadline for the testimony and documents is November 18. The committee voted on issuing the subpoena in a September 25 business meeting.
“This administration’s stonewalling leaves this Committee without basic facts that are essential to carrying out its oversight responsibilities,” Leahy said in his letter to Mukasey.
“There is no legitimate argument for withholding the requested materials from this Committee. The Executive Branch should not obstruct Congress from conducting its constitutional oversight and lawmaking duties by making sweeping assertions of secrecy and privilege.”
Leahy and the Bush administration have been embroiled in an ongoing tussle over access to administration documents. As Leahy explains in today’s letter, in August he wrote to White House counsel Fred Fielding requesting the documents, and was rebuffed. Fielding referred Leahy to DOJ, which continued to stonewall. As a result, the committee voted to authorize the subpoena, which was issued to Mukasey today.