WASHINGTON — The Bush administration cited executive privilege Thursday as it rejected subpoenas from two congressional panels investigating last year's removal of eight U.S. attorneys, setting up a constitutional dispute that could take years to resolve.
In a letter to the chairmen of the House and Senate judiciary committees, White House Counsel Fred F. Fielding also said he had advised former White House officials subpoenaed in the matter not to provide any documents to Capitol Hill.
Fielding told the chairmen that President Bush had "attempted to chart a course of cooperation" with Congress, providing "information in a manner that accommodated presidential prerogatives."
The two panels are seeking testimony from former White House Counsel Harriet E. Miers and former political affairs director Sara M. Taylor, as well as documents related to the dismissals.
The Democratic chairmen -- Sen. Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont and Rep. John Conyers Jr. of Michigan -- waved away Fielding's arguments, accusing the White House of stonewalling.
"The president and vice president feel they are above the law," Leahy said Thursday morning after a telephone call from Fielding. "In America, no one is above the law."
Conyers said in a statement that the White House had proposed only "a take-it-or-leave-it offer" of limited access to witnesses and documents. Efforts to seek a compromise were rebuffed, committee staffers said.
Thursday was the deadline for responding to the subpoenas.
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Congressional recourse
The Senate panel may soon seek to enforce the subpoenas -- meaning it would vote on a criminal contempt citation, which would then require a majority vote in the full Senate.
Since 1975, 10 Cabinet-level or senior executive officials have been cited for contempt for failure to produce documents, according to a background paper provided to reporters. In each instance, there was "substantial or full compliance with the document demands" before criminal proceedings were initiated.
This marks the second time Bush has asserted executive privilege, said White House spokesman Tony Fratto. The first was in December 2001, in response to a congressional subpoena for Justice Department documents on Clinton-era campaign fundraising, among other records.
Fielding had previously proposed that some documents be released and that key officials -- including Miers and political strategist Karl Rove -- be interviewed without transcripts in closed-door sessions.
