http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/24681La la la la We Can't Hear the I Word La La La
Submitted by davidswanson on Sat, 2007-07-14 19:24. Congress
Miers Warned of Contempt Citation for Ignoring House Subpoena
By James Rowley, Bloomberg
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee threatened former White House Counsel Harriet Miers with criminal contempt charges if she continues to defy its subpoena to testify about the firing of eight U.S. attorneys.
Committee Chairman John Conyers of Michigan gave Miers until 5 p.m. Washington time on July 17 to say whether she will comply. Miers failed to appear yesterday to answer questions under oath before the panel's commercial-law subcommittee, which then voted 7-5 along party lines that her refusal to testify had no valid legal basis.
The contempt threat against Miers further escalates Congress's legal confrontation with President George W. Bush over his refusal to let aides testify under oath about private White House discussions. Congressional investigators are trying to determine whether federal prosecutors were replaced to spur investigations of Democrats or quash probes of Republicans.
"We must insist on compliance with the subpoena," Conyers said in a two-page letter to George T. Manning, an Atlanta lawyer representing Miers. Her refusal "could subject her to contempt proceedings."
Refusing to testify or produce documents to Congress can lead to prosecution for a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of as much as $1,000.
more...