WASHINGTON — A congressional subcommittee on Wednesday put itself on a collision course with the White House over the firing of U.S. attorneys, while Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales -- under siege for his handling of the dismissals -- took steps to repair his image.
Over Republican objections, the House judiciary subcommittee on commercial and administrative law authorized subpoenas for documents and testimony from top Justice Department and White House aides, including political strategist Karl Rove. The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to take similar action today.
The disclosures about the firing of eight U.S. attorneys last year have turned into a political embarrassment for the administration and triggered allegations by Democrats that the White House and Justice Department conspired to replace the prosecutors for political reasons. The Justice Department denies that, saying the dismissals were based on performance issues.
The House subcommittee move Wednesday amounted to an act of defiance, coming a day after President Bush accused Democrats of plotting to use subpoenas in order to engage in a "partisan fishing expedition."
The White House has offered to allow congressional investigators to talk to Rove and other officials in informal private interviews, where they would not be under oath.
"The White House's offer provides nothing more than conversations. It does not allow this committee to get the information we need without transcripts or oaths," Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said Wednesday.
The vote authorized Conyers to issue the subpoenas at his discretion. The chairman said the action gave the committee the ability to continue "good faith negotiations" with the White House regarding the terms of the questioning while "maintaining the option to move forward with our investigation with or without continued cooperation from the administration."
White House officials warned Wednesday that if congressional committees actually issue subpoenas, their offer to permit private interviews will be withdrawn. "The moment subpoenas are issued, it means that they have rejected the offer," White House spokesman Tony Snow said.
Snow was careful, however, not to react to the House subcommittee's vote to authorize the subpoenas. "There is an important distinction between authorizing subpoenas and issuing them," Snow said. "And we hope members of Congress, as they have an opportunity to think this through, are going to realize that they've got a deal before them that enables them to find out what the truth is.
