Are things finally coming to a head in the long-running effort to get testimony on the US Attorney firings from key Bush aides?
A federal court has said that the Obama administration must file its brief in the case of Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten by next Wednesday, reports Politico.
The administration had asked to have until March 4th to get its position straight.
Miers and Bolten, both top aides to the Bush White House, were subpoenaed by Congress for testimony on the U.S. Attorney firings. President Bush had asserted executive privilege, sending the matter to the courts. Now the Obama administration must decide whether to back Bush’s claim.
An executive order issued by the Obama White House on its first full day in office suggests it won’t, in the view of some experts.
The issue of Karl Rove’s testimony on the firings could also be at stake, since any ruling in the Miers-Bolten case could affect the stand-off over Rove. House Judiciary chair John Conyers has subpoenaed Rove, whose lawyer then kicked the issue over to the Obama White House.
Things are getting interesting…