What Conyers Told the Rules Committee Re Contempt

[babylonsister]

What Conyers Told the Rules Committee Re Contempt
Submitted by davidswanson on Thu, 2008-02-14 15:23. Congress


February 13, 2008 -- (Washington, DC) - Today, House Judiciary Committee chairman testified before the House Committee on Rules in support of statutory contempt and civil litigating authority resolutions against former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten. The full text of his statement is below:

Madam Chairwoman, Ranking Member Drier, members of the committee, thank you for this opportunity to testify on two related resolutions: 1) H. Res. 979, the Judiciary Committee’s resolution recommending that the House find White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with subpoenas duly issued by the committee, and 2) H. Res. 980, a privileged resolution I introduced today authorizing the committee to initiate or intervene in civil judicial proceedings to enforce those subpoenas.

Recommending that the House cite someone for contempt of Congress is a step that the committee, and I as chairman, take with great reluctance. Unfortunately, it is a step that is clearly necessary to preserve the role and constitutional prerogatives of Congress as an institution, in addition to getting to the bottom of the U.S. Attorney controversy.

The Judiciary Committee voted on July 25 to recommend the contempt resolution because, despite months of effort to secure voluntary compliance, the White House has refused to provide access to crucial information requested by the committee. In fact, as of today, I have written nine letters over more than eight months trying to resolve this matter. But despite duly issued subpoenas, the White House has determined that it has the unilateral authority to prevent Mr. Bolten from providing us with a single piece of paper and to prevent Ms. Miers from even showing up at a committee hearing.

If the executive branch can disregard congressional subpoenas in this way, we no longer have a system of checks and balances. That is the cornerstone of our democracy, and it is our bipartisan responsibility to protect it. As our former colleague, Republican Mickey Edwards, has explained, taking action is crucial in order to defend Congress “as a separate, independent, and completely equal branch of government.”

more...

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/31027

[alfredo]

1. I want to see Meirs and Bolton in shackles.

[hobbit709]

2. And in a striped suit with a bowling ball attached.

[alfredo]

3. I like this outfit

[PetrusMonsFormicarum]

4. Whomever may be our next Prez

has his/her work cut out for 'em simply rounding up all of the fascist players in the Bush game. Bolten and Miers are likely going to face "civil judicial proceedings", and whether they amount to a hill of beans is anybody's guess. Personally, I doubt it, but a certain soon-to-be ex-president and his drunken gray-suit gunman may well have to stand in front of the Hague and attempt to answer for their CRIMES, at which point the prosecution of idiot pawns like Bolten, Miers, etc. will become meaningless.

This is my dream.

[Winterblues]

5. OK what is the next step? Administration is already thumbing it's nose at Congress

The Administration has said it will block Dept of Just Us from prosecuting these Contempt Citations. Congress has within it's power to issue "Inherent Contempt" citations which means they can bypass the Dept of Just Us and prosecute on their own. They can send their Sargeant of Arms in and arrest both Bolton and Meirs and hold them until Jan 20th of next year..We know that won't happen but it should..