Meirs & Taylor. It is gonna be a long and hot summer.

[hang a left]

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The investigation process ramps up political pressure with letters, media outreach, subpoenas and contempt until one side cracks. The more bipartisan support an investigation has, the heavier each move weighs. The more the public supports the opposing branch, the more likely a committee will be to back down.
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"In theory, what happens is, after the House, or the Senate, goes through a certain process, is kicked over to a prosecutor," Tiefer said. But to think that will actually happen "is a naive way" of looking at Congressional investigations.


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It is also a rarity for the White House to play its trump card – official executive privilege. The current Bush administration has only officially claimed executive privilege once (seriously) in December of 2001, Tiefer said. Congress was investigating how the FBI handled informants, specifically in the case of Joseph Salvati, who spent 30 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. The FBI was accused of suppressing evidence that would have proved Salvati’s innocence to protect an informant. Bush ordered then Attorney General John Ashcroft to keep documents from the investigating committee, invoking his privilege.
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http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/003254.php

And So It Begins
By Paul Kiel - June 13, 2007, 1:46 PM

The fight between Congress and the White House over testimony from White House aides over the U.S. attorney firings has officially entered its second stage. The first stage, a stalemate punctuated by threats of subpoenas, lasted three months. The second stage is likely to last much longer.

We noted the subpoenas to Karl Rove's former aide Sara Taylor and former White House counsel Harriet Miers earlier today. You can see the subpoena for Miers here.

Also among the subpoenas issued this morning were subpoenas from the House and Senate judiciary committees to the White House for "all documents in the possession, custody or control of the White House" that relate to the U.S. attorney firings. You can see the two letters to White House counsel Fred Fielding from the committee chairmen today below.

As CNN reports, the subpoenas are likely to lead to a long fight:

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/003422.php