We just talked to Senate Judiciary chair Patrick Leahy (D-VT) as he left the official electoral vote count that designated the president-elect, and asked him something that’s been on our mind here at TPMmuckraker: How much resources/time will Congress have to address the ongoing lawsuits against Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten for their failure to provide testimony and documents in the U.S. Attorney firings scandal?
The House officially voted to continue its legal efforts yesterday, but Leahy admitted that he was unsure about a timeframe for action in the Senate.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I actually raised the same question to my staff today.”
Leahy explained that several senior members of his staff have taken a leave to help with Barack Obama’s transition, a factor that could delay significant action for a time.
In October, Leahy’s committee released a report on the firings saga which found that senior White House officials, including Karl Rove, helped compile the list of US Attorneys to be removed, and that former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales participated in a “cover up” to conceal the fact that the firings were politically motivated.
That report accompanied contempt resolutions, against Rove and White House chief of staff Josh Bolten, passed by the committee last year. Rove and Bolten have refused to testify or turn over documents to the committee.