House Committee Charges Bush Aides With Contempt

Judiciary Committee votes along party lines to issue contempt citations to Harriet Miers and Joshua Bolten
By Heather McPherson,  Newser User
Posted Jul 25, 2007 3:16 PM CDT
House Committee Charges Bush Aides With Contempt
A witness chair sits empty on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 12, 2007, during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the firing of eight U. S. attorneys. The House panel began clearing the way Thursday for contempt proceedings against former White House counsel Harriet Miers after she obeyed...   (Associated Press)

The House Judiciary Committee voted to issue contempt citations to two of President Bush's top aides for defying subpoenas related to the US attorney firings scandal, edging Congress closer to a Constitutional showdown with the White House over its claims of executive privilege. The committee voted along party lines 22-17 to charge Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and former counsel Harriet Miers.

The White House has indicated it will make every effort to block prosecution of Bolten and Miers, who it says must protect details of internal deliberations from the congressional probe. Congress' next move would be a vote in the entire House, followed by a referral to the US attorney for the District of Columbia, WaPo reports. (More George W. Bush stories.)

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