Ellison Joins House Panel on Contempt Citation against Bush Aides
Wednesday, July 25, 2007 at 8:46 pm
- 12 Comments
U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison was among 22 Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee who issued a contempt citation against two senior White House aides over the dismissals of nine U.S. attorneys last year.
Voting along party lines, all 17 Republicans on the committee voted against the measure.
The two aides are John Bolten, the White House chief of staff, and President Bush’s former legal counsel, Harriet Miers. Invoking executive privilege, President Bush blocked them from complying with committee subpoenas that asked them to turn over documents relating to the attorneys’ firings and to testify before the committee.
They neither showed up before the committee nor sent the documents.
Instead, the president offered to let the two aides testify in private and without a paper trail. Ellison was quoted as saying: “That won’t do. There’s no point of accountability. They have to be sworn. These kinds of measures are necessary to ensure that truth-telling occurs.”
Committee Chairman, Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., said, “If we countenance a process where our subpoenas can be readily ignored, where a witness under a duly authorized subpoena doesn’t even have to bother to show up . . . then we have already lost.”
The committee’s vote is the first of a series of legal steps to bring indictments. Next, the full House must vote for the contempt citation and refer it to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia for prosecution.
It has been more than 20 years since the full House voted for a contempt citation. But even if that happens, the Bush administration contends that Congress doesn’t wield the legal power to refer someone who refused to testify because of executive privilege for prosecution.
Contempt of Congress carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine. The House is unlikely take up the issue before its summer recess next week.
12 Comments
Comment posted July 25, 2007 @ 9:48 pm
Contempt is something Ellison is quite well versed on. Well, no one can dispute the fact that Ellison knows his way around a citation.
But one cannot help but wonder if he might be tempted to issue a statement in defense of these aides when they wad their citations up into a tight little ball and toss them to the curb.
After all, contempt for authority is something else that the Representative is well aquainted with. This will be very amusing to watch.
Comment posted July 26, 2007 @ 8:12 am
High Crimes and Misdemanours It appears as if the President is the one with contempt for congress, if they are refusing to appear on his authority.
Contempt of congress is a high crime and a misdemeanour.
I’ve been arguing for some time that ‘misdemeanour’ does not mean ‘lesser crime’ in the parlence of the founders but just “bad attitude” – hense, no specific legal infraction is necessary for impeachment, however, contempt of congress surely qualifies however one defined misdemeanour.
I might be wrong, but I think that aids to the president lack the power to invoke executive privlege. I think only the executive has this authority. For that reason, I think it would be wrong for these individuals to serve time for refusing to testify – Mr. Bush should be cited.
Comment posted July 26, 2007 @ 9:04 am
Of course As everyone knows, parking tickets are in the same class as a congressional subpoena.
Comment posted July 26, 2007 @ 4:26 pm
So . . . That excuses the White House? “We don’t have to obey, because you’re not perfect.”
Instead of trying to slam Representative Ellison (who will never, ever, ever please the wingers), why not look at what President Bush is doing to the Constitution. That is a particularly egregious example of “no respect for the laws and traditions of society.”
Comment posted July 26, 2007 @ 3:02 pm
What an embaressment for the state of Minnesota. Congressional subpoenas, parking tickets, campaign finance records, taxes, marital vows…they are indeed all in the same non-factor “class” to a person who has no respect for the laws and traditions of society…a person such as Congressman Ellison.
Comment posted July 27, 2007 @ 10:09 am
Ellison Such harsh objectivity is politically incorrect among the rabid liberal left.
Comment posted July 25, 2007 @ 4:48 pm
Contempt is something Ellison is quite well versed on. Well, no one can dispute the fact that Ellison knows his way around a citation.
But one cannot help but wonder if he might be tempted to issue a statement in defense of these aides when they wad their citations up into a tight little ball and toss them to the curb.
After all, contempt for authority is something else that the Representative is well aquainted with. This will be very amusing to watch.
Comment posted July 26, 2007 @ 3:12 am
High Crimes and Misdemanours It appears as if the President is the one with contempt for congress, if they are refusing to appear on his authority.
Contempt of congress is a high crime and a misdemeanour.
I've been arguing for some time that 'misdemeanour' does not mean 'lesser crime' in the parlence of the founders but just “bad attitude” – hense, no specific legal infraction is necessary for impeachment, however, contempt of congress surely qualifies however one defined misdemeanour.
I might be wrong, but I think that aids to the president lack the power to invoke executive privlege. I think only the executive has this authority. For that reason, I think it would be wrong for these individuals to serve time for refusing to testify – Mr. Bush should be cited.
Comment posted July 26, 2007 @ 4:04 am
Of course As everyone knows, parking tickets are in the same class as a congressional subpoena.
Comment posted July 26, 2007 @ 10:02 am
What an embaressment for the state of Minnesota. Congressional subpoenas, parking tickets, campaign finance records, taxes, marital vows…they are indeed all in the same non-factor “class” to a person who has no respect for the laws and traditions of society…a person such as Congressman Ellison.
Comment posted July 26, 2007 @ 11:26 am
So . . . That excuses the White House? “We don't have to obey, because you're not perfect.”
Instead of trying to slam Representative Ellison (who will never, ever, ever please the wingers), why not look at what President Bush is doing to the Constitution. That is a particularly egregious example of “no respect for the laws and traditions of society.”
Comment posted July 27, 2007 @ 5:09 am
Ellison Such harsh objectivity is politically incorrect among the rabid liberal left.
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