and we’re off…

Posted on Friday 20 July 2007

July 19, 2007

Mr. Fred F. Fielding
Counsel to the President
Office of the Counsel to the President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530

Dear Mr. Fielding:

I am disappointed that the President’s Chief of Staff Josh Bolten has continued to disobey the subpoena served on him on June 13, 2007, and has not produced the documents called for by that subpoena. Enclosed with this letter is a copy of the text of a ruling by Chairwoman Sánchez at today’s meeting of the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law rejecting the claims of privilege that you have sought to raise in response to that subpoena. The ruling was sustained by a 7-3 vote of the Subcommittee.

This letter is to formally notify you that I must insist on compliance with the subpoena, and that Mr. Bolten’s failure to promptly mitigate his noncompliance could result in contempt proceedings, including but not limited to proceedings under 2 U.S.C. §§ 192, 194 or under the inherent contempt authority of the House of Representatives. In light of Chairwoman Sánchez’s ruling, we strongly urge immediate production of the responsive documents pursuant to the subpoena. Please let me know in writing by 10 a.m. on Monday July 23, 2007, whether Mr. Bolten will comply. If I do not hear from you in the affirmative by then, the Committee will have no choice but to consider appropriate recourse.

Sincerely,

John Conyers, Jr.
Chairman

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