Breaking: Miers, Bush Chief of Staff to face contempt charges

[Roland99]

Source: RawStory

Former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and Joshua Bolten, the current Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush, will likely be charged with contempt by the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday this week.

"This investigation, including the reluctant but necessary decision to move forward with contempt, has been a very deliberative process, taking care at each step to respect the Executive Branch’s legitimate prerogatives,” said Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, in a statement. "I've allowed the White House and Ms. Miers every opportunity to cooperate with this investigation, either voluntarily or under subpoena. It is still my hope that they will reconsider this hard-line position, and cooperate with our investigation so that we can get to the bottom of this matter."

Through an attorney, Miers had had earlier stated that she does not fear contempt charges. She refused to comply with a subpoena and appear before the House Committee on July 12 as part of the investigation into the firing of 9 US Attorneys. Bolten also has failed to turn over documents sought by House Democrats. The Bush chief of staff was ordered to comply with the subpoena by 10 AM this morning.

DEVELOPING ...

Read more: http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Breaking_Miers_Bush_Chief_of_Staff_0723.html

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Constitution vs. Unitary Executive Showdown!

[Atman]

1. Of course they "don't fear contempt charges."

They have no intention of complying with them or answering them. Alito and Roberts will make sure nothing ever happens to them. Bush has made sure of it.

.

[zanne]

15. The Bush-friendly court showed it's face in 2000.

The Supreme Court selection was just a preview of things to come. When you're allowed to stack the courts, nothing can touch you.

[mmonk]

64. That's why you take political lackeys out of the process and impeach.

[SharonRB]

2. This should be an interesting week

:popcorn:

[bunny planet]

25. I really don't like popcorn anymore, it gets stuck in my teeth.

Can we think of a new snack.
Or better yet, start drinking cocktails earlier in the day.

I wish they'd be more aggressive, unless they can force the US Attorney for DC to recuse himself, this polite version of contempt will get bogged down in Bush's stacked courts.

[SharonRB]

48. We need INHERENT CONTEMPT!

Accept no substitutes.

As for the snacks, I still like popcorn, but those cocktails sound like a great idea.

[alkaline9]

3. this is hopeful... bring the stonewalling and secrecy into the public eye...

...of course we probably won't hear a word about this from the M$M.

[DrDan]

24. well - they need to be making these statements in front of a microphone

not simply issuing a statement throught the PR people.

I cannot take the link - so not sure how it was issued.

But we need microphone time to get this out.

[aquart]

4. "She doesn't fear contempt charges." Liar.

What an outrageously arrogant statement.

Harriet's equivalent of "Bring it on." Which worked so well previously.

[progressoid]

11. Actually, I think she is telling the truth.

What does she have to fear? Arrest? Censure? Anything?

[Danieljay]

19. Of cousre she is. The deck is stacked and she knows it. We are an election away from Dictarorship.

[0007]

41. ......maybe just an executive order away from a dictatorship. nt

[Danieljay]

53. Exactly. I'm beginning to despise these bastards, Dems and Thugs alike. n/t

[zehnkatzen]

5. The law is the law.

If I refused to answer a subpoena–Senatorial or otherwise–what do we suppose would happen to me?

And I thought the "executive privilege" dodge had been taken care of back during Nixon.

I hope any liberal majority that results from this conservative misbehavior takes its lesson well, and keeps conservatives firmly to a feckless minority, right where they deserve to stay. When they get power, conservatives try to drive out any opposition. They are grasping, greedy sorts who are not merely satisfied that they win, it must also be that everyone else should lose. Big, if possible.

The current administration will try to weasel out of this. No doubt, with their allies now populating the courts, they have a chance to do so. But it's way past time that Conyers got the pass to do the right thing. After all, if our side waited for the perfect time, it would be too late; the perfect is, of course, the enemy of the good.

K&R.

[maryallen]

45. Yeah, kinda like we 'thought" the school integration thing had been settled ...

back in 1954 with Brown vs. Board of Education (sarcasm).

In this country, one Supreme Court ruling is never enough.

[Tesha]

61. Then again, sometimes that's a good thing.

> In this country, one Supreme Court ruling is never enough.

Then again, sometimes that's a good thing.

o http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dred_Scott

o http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plessy_v._Ferguson

Tesha

[NV Whino]

6. Well, hey

Why don't we just censure them. That ought to frighten them.

[Doctor_J]

7. Wouldn't this have to be enforced by the DOJ and/or the Courts?

If so, she's correct not to fear anything.

[MrModerate]

8. The wall is starting to crumble . . .

And Bush, Rove, Cheney, haven't a clue how to stop the collapse or rebuild what's fallen.

These guys' strategems only worked when they were unquestioned. Now that *everyone* hates their guts, their bullying just looks pathetic. They can do a **lot** of damage before they're ousted (before Jan 20 2009, one hopes), but their grip is rapidly slipping away.

[davidwparker]

43. The belief from a former Reagan official believes they will try to recover

by staging another 9/11. Thom Hartmann had him on last Thurday's show.

[L. Coyote]

9. How do downpours begin? Drip, drip, drip ...

Called my broker. I'm investing in umbrella stocks today. :rofl:

[zanne]

10. "the full House of Representatives"?

Does that mean every member must vote for a contempt citation? I really doubt that that could happen.

[LSK]

16. no, just a straight vote

[Danieljay]

12. but first we have to send them a double dog strongly worded letter warning them.. Then the stacked

court will step and and 'find' for the pResident.

[LSK]

13. YES YES YES YES YES!!!!

This is HUGE folks!!!!

:bounce: :bounce:

[driver8]

14. Why should she fear contempt charges?

She will be taken care of by Shrubby's people...there is nothing for her to worry about (see Scooter Libby).

Walls are not starting to crumble, stories are not starting to unravel...nothing is going to happen.

Besides, repeating "I don't recall" seems to satisfy Congress.

[LSK]

18. read up on inherent contempt

The Congress has the authority to arrest people and try people without the Justice Department.

[Roland99]

30. I believe it's going to have to come to that. Not been used since 1934 is it?

Time to dust it off!!!!

[ClassWarrior]

22. Yes, bow down before our almighty overlords...

Give up... Resistance is futile...

:eyes:

NGU.

[driver8]

27. I'm not saying "bow down to the almighty overlords"...

what I am saying is "talk is cheap."

We have been down this road before, and the same criminals are pulling the same old shit.

Sorry to piss on the parade, but until anyone is dragged before Congress I'm not getting too excited.

[ClassWarrior]

29. You're saying, "Nothing is going to happen."

That's pretty clear to me.

NGU.

[driver8]

35. Ok...maybe that is what I'm saying.

Believe me, I want these thugs in jail as much as anyone. I want Bush, Cheney, Rummy, Rice, Gonzo, Wolfie -- all of them, to pay for what they have done to this country.

Maybe I am giving up. Maybe I'm sick of getting my hopes up only to have them squashed by Shrubby and Co.

Maybe I'll feel a little more optimistic when I see some action.

[hisownpetard]

49. NGU? (Meaning, please) n/t

[AspenRose]

56. Never Give Up

eom

[hisownpetard]

58. Never would have guessed that one. Thanks! n/t

[Catherine Vincent]

17. Why aren't these people in jail?

Didn't Susan MacDougal set in jail for over a year for contempt?

[Patsy Stone]

20. Every little helps

How #$%@*! arrogant to not fear contempt charges. She's not even pretending to care about the law. Nice attitude for a lawyer no?

[Jackpine Radical]

26. ...not just a lawyer, a Bush SC nominee.

[dkofos]

21. This is such a waste of time. But that is what the dems seem to do best.

[jean]

38. and what would your comment be if they didn't pursue this?

[dkofos]

42. You wouldn't want to hear it.

[onehandle]

23. Frog March! nt

[Nimrod2005]

28. k

[OnyxCollie]

31. Is this conventional contempt or inherent contempt? nt

[Lone_Star_Dem]

44. I believe it's statutory contempt. n/t

[OnyxCollie]

57. Damn.

So, this means the D.C. US Attorney has to be persuaded to prosecute? Is that correct?

[baldguy]

32. Aren't there a couple old cells in the basement of the Capitol?

If not, maybe they should make a few for the bushies.

[creeksneakers2]

33. Showdown!

This ought to be good. Dems are playing this very well. It would be even better if they started an impeachment inquiry for Gonzales. That would overcome Bush's executive privilege claims in court.

A constitutional showdown could wind up with impeachment.

[speedoo]

36. "Dems are playing this very well." OK, show me how.....

I don't see it that way, but I'm more than willing to listen to your argument.

[still_one]

39. Of course they are playing it well, impeachment is off the table

the justice department under Gonzallez will ignore it

The Democratic leadership will hold their breath until they turn blue, and before you know it 2008 rolls around, and it will be evident that nothing has changed in Iraq and that Congress has been made irrelevent by the executive branch, but in reality, CONGRESS HAS BEEN MADE irrelevent by Congress

[creeksneakers2]

60. My Bugs Bunny theory of impeachment

Do you remember how when Bugs Bunny was confronted by a huge savagely belligerent idiot what he'd do? Bugs would draw a line in the dirt with his toe and dare the belligerent to cross it. Then Bugs would draw another line and then another, and the belligerent would cross those too. Bugs would draw the last line at the edge of a cliff, and the belligerent would jump over the line and off the cliff.

George Bush is a huge savagely belligerent idiot. I want the Dems to play Bugs Bunny, only instead of lines in the dirt use subpoenas. Get court orders. Hold an impeachment inquiry for Gonzales. Sooner or later I believe Bush will do something that is so drastic and over the line that the public will demand impeachment. The GOP will be forced to go along and the public won't hold anything against the Dems because there would be no choice.

There are lots of steps between, but it wouldn't take a genius to figure them out.

The first part of working toward this is establishing that Bush is the one pushing a war, while Democrats were very patient. Played very well.

[Tesha]

62. Well, none of them have come down with Anthrax yet.

So they must be doing something "the way somebody wants it".

Tesha

[dennis4868]

34. I can already imagine....

the Supreme Court ruling on this saying that this ruling only applies in this case and cannot be used for any other case (i.e., Gore v. Bush), and rule that the contempt charges should be dismissed.

Man, if Clinton tried to pull half the shit that Bush and his thugs have gotten away with, he would have been burnt at the stake by the MSM and Congress (both Dems and Repubs).

[still_one]

37. So cheney will tell them to F off, and the leadership in Congress will say

OK...

[cureautismnow]

40. If inherent contempt is imposed, I can envision...

Miers and Bolton physically hiding in the WH with the Secret Service and the DOJ henchmen barricading the WH perimeter. The Sergeant-at-Arms for the House would have to pass the gauntlet to grab them and stick them both in the HR basement. This administration adheres to no laws of Congress.

[puebloknot]

65. Or disappearing into an unknown location.

Oh, where, oh, where is the Sergeant-at-Arms brave enough to carry out this task?

[Highway61]

46. Can't say I am excited

The cards (or judges in this case) are already stacked and in place. When I read that congress will not consider fixing or replacing the voting machines for 2008, that impeachement if off the table and blackmail is rampant in D.C. I now realize that fear works, money takes care of money and folks like you and I are truly at the bottom of the heap. I'll believe it when I see it.

[KansDem]

47. Call me a "pollyanna" but I believe the courts will have to acknowledge their responsibilities

...beyond simply being lapdogs for the Bushistas. They have to understand this is about checks and balances, and that they're checks and balances will be severely eroded if they simply rubberstamp another Bush request in service to their masters.

It's one thing to rubberstamp neo-con rulings that appear too cerebral for the masses, but now we're talking about the laws that we all have to follow. I wonder how this will play out in the more conservative areas of our nation, where individuals--void of "cerebral issues"--have been subjected to "the rule of law" when dealing with subpoenas in cases of divorce, child custody, DUIs, property disputes, drug possession, assault and battery, etc--all the "real life" experiences many of us encounter from day to day. Perhaps it will sink into the country as a whole that we cannot allow certain wealthy and connected individuals to escape accountability.

But then, maybe I'm just a "pollyanna."

[Dervill Crow]

50. . . . will "likely" face contempt charges.

Dammit, I want to read that it has been done, not that it is f*ckin' likely.

I'm so tired of waiting for someone to deal with these arrogant assholes as they deserve.

[Sonicmedusa]

51. Exactly! What a bunch of sensationalistic bullshit.

[Maraya1969]

52. Hey why don't they drag the contempt charges out so Miers et al will

be sent to jail right after bush leaves office?

[Unreconstructed Lib]

54. If the charges aren't for inherent contempt, they're a waste of time.

Justice will just obstruct this. The only value I see in regular contempt charges is to further expose the arrogance of this administration. But Congress needs to act quickly and decisively. The very moment that Bush circles his wagons against these charges, I hope the Dems will go right for the inherent contempt jugular.

[in_cog_ni_to]

55. If Miers doesn't fear Contempt charges, that means she won't be hiding out to avoid arrest!

I hope she loses her freakin' law license!

[Swamp Rat]

59. k&r

[farmboxer]

63. Bush will spit into everyone's eyes! King George Is Always

above the law. There is no law that applies to him. Even "before he became Pres., www.awolbush.com

[Disturbed]

68. Damn! Another disappointment. I had more hope for Conyers.

Without INHERENT CONTEMPT Congress loses again.

[radfringe]

66. and then what?

is congress ready to back it up with some teeth when the bushies spit on it?

sorry if I don't cheer - but without some teeth behind it, the contempt charges are 'quaint'

Constitution vs. Unitary Executive Showdown? phhht, with what? squirt guns vs tanks is more like it.

snowjob will call it political theater, and dems will call for a whaaaambulance (we don't have the votes)

justice is no longer blind - it's drunk on kool-aid

[piedmont]

67. I believe this is a "double-dog dare."

The exec branch is being dared to interfere with the Justice Dept's duty to prosecute. Oh, I hope they take up that dare.