from emptywheel liveblogging
Representative Wexler: Failure to reply to Congressional subpoenas. Refusal of Bolten and Miers to even appear. Have you been instructed by POTUS to enforce or not to enforce subpoenas.Attorney General Mukasey: I can’t say.Representative Wexler: Can you tell me the individual that Clinton instructed not to appear?Attorney General Mukasey: Dellinger wrote an opinion.Representative Wexler: I didn’t ask opinions. I asked about the President instructing someone not to appear. Have you been instructed to enforce or not to enforce contempt citations.Attorney General Mukasey: That’s privileged.Representative Wexler: Should Congress pass a contempt citation would you enforce it?Attorney General Mukasey: If you’re talking about a contempt citation based on Bolten’s failure to appear – he can’t violate the President’s request.Representative Wexler: Are you the people’s lawyer or the President’s?Attorney General Mukasey: Attorney General of United States.
How much longer can Congress put up with this kind of obstruction? Mukasey won’t even say that Bush told him not to enforce the Congressional subpoenas. When asked if Congress issued a Contempt Citation, would he enforce it, he doesn’t answer. Instead, he gives a legal opinion as if he’s the person being held in Contempt’s lawyer. There is no real way around this kind of obstruction that I can think of – short of issuing a Contempt Citation against Mukasey [which he wouldn’t enforce], followed by Impeachment of Bush and Cheney.
Why not just start Impeachment proceedings tomorrow?
Grand idea! Clearly the folks in Washington have open calendar’s so perhaps they should do that. After all, are they the people’s Congressmen or are they the President’s?
“are they the people’s Congressmen or are they the President’s?” Great comment! I wish I’d said that…