Chairman Conyers Writes to Fielding on Executive Privilege

[babylonsister]

http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=609

Chairman Conyers Writes to Fielding on Executive Privilege
July 19th, 2007 by Jesse Lee

As noted earlier, Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law Chairwoman Linda Sánchez ruled to reject the White House’s privilege claims as a basis for refusing to comply with the Committee’s subpoena for White House documents, and the ruling was upheld by the Subcommittee. Full Committee Chairman John Conyers has just written a letter to White House counsel Fred Fielding informing him of the ruling and warning of consequences to come should the White House not comply by 10 a.m. on Monday July 23, 2007.

The full letter:

July 19, 2007

BY FAX AND U.S. MAIL

Mr. Fred F. Fielding
Counsel to the President
Office of the Counsel to the President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530

Dear Mr. Fielding:

I am disappointed that the President’s Chief of Staff Josh Bolten has continued to disobey the subpoena served on him on June 13, 2007, and has not produced the documents called for by that subpoena. Enclosed with this letter is a copy of the text of a ruling by Chairwoman Sánchez at today’s meeting of the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law rejecting the claims of privilege that you have sought to raise in response to that subpoena. The ruling was sustained by a 7-3 vote of the Subcommittee.

This letter is to formally notify you that I must insist on compliance with the subpoena, and that Mr. Bolten’s failure to promptly mitigate his noncompliance could result in contempt proceedings, including but not limited to proceedings under 2 U.S.C. §§ 192, 194 or under the inherent contempt authority of the House of Representatives. In light of Chairwoman Sánchez’s ruling, we strongly urge immediate production of the responsive documents pursuant to the subpoena. Please let me know in writing by 10 a.m. on Monday July 23, 2007, whether Mr. Bolten will comply. If I do not hear from you in the affirmative by then, the Committee will have no choice but to consider appropriate recourse.

Sincerely,

John Conyers, Jr.
Chairman

Enclosure

cc: The Honorable Lamar S. Smith
The Honorable Linda T. Sánchez
The Honorable Chris Cannon

[PSPS]

1. Wake me if/when we ever get beyond the letter-writing stage.

[WA98296]

2. Great. He's citing under the "Inherent" Comtempt authority...

The cited person is brought, by thye Sergeant-at-Arms for the House to the floor of the chamber, held to answer charges by the presiding officer, and then subject to punishment that the House may dictate, including imprisonment!

[C_U_L8R]

3. We need a Democratic Tet.

Lets drive these repigs into the Potomac.

hahahahhaha (pardon the ouburst... the anticipation is killing me :-)

[texpatriot2004]

4. K & R nm