Charges ahead for Miers, Bolten?

WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee said Monday that it would move forward with contempt-of-Congress proceedings against President Bush's chief of staff, Joshua Bolten, and former White House counsel Harriet Miers for refusing to comply with congressional subpoenas pertaining to the investigation of the firing of nine U.S. attorneys last year.

The panel's chairman, Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., said the committee would vote Wednesday on a resolution to hold Bolten and Miers in contempt for refusing to provide documents and testimony sought by the panel.

The decision ratchets up a battle between Congress and the White House in which the Bush administration has sought to invoke executive privilege to keep documents about the firings under wraps. The resolution would go to the House floor for a vote if, as expected, the committee approves it.

Only twice since the Watergate investigations of the mid-1970s has the full House voted to hold an administration official in contempt of Congress. In 1982, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Anne Gorsuch refused to turn over documents; a year later, another EPA official, Rita Lavelle, refused to appear before a House committee. The Justice Department refused to prosecute Gorsuch, and Lavelle was acquitted in court.

"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," Conyers said.

"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," he said.

Democrats have seized on the dismissals of the U.S. attorneys, all appointed by Bush, because of evidence that some were removed because they were not pursuing cases that would further Republican Party goals. Among those dismissed was John McKay of Seattle.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was expected to be questioned about his role in the dismissals in an appearance today before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Gonzales has been criticized for giving what lawmakers considered to be conflicting explanations about the depth of his involvement in the firings.

He is also facing questions about a conversation he had with a former top aide, Monica Goodling, who said he attempted to discuss the firings with her before she was questioned by congressional investigators.

In his prepared testimony for the hearing, distributed Monday by the Justice Department, Gonzales said he was troubled by the allegations of politicization at the department but he vowed to stay at the department to "fix the problems."

Congressional investigators have reviewed thousands of pages of Justice Department documents and testimony, but the investigation has hit a wall at the White House, which has declined to make officials available for public questioning under oath.

The administration has offered to make some officials available for private questioning without a transcript and without the opportunity for follow-up questions. Lawmakers have said those conditions are unacceptable.

"It seems now that we have a fishing expedition that's woefully short on fish," White House spokesman Tony Snow said Monday.

Under federal law, being in contempt of Congress is a misdemeanor, and cases are referred to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia for prosecution.

The penalty is one to 12 months in jail and $100 to $1,000 in fines.