The House and Senate Intelligence Committees have asked the former attorney general to testify about his role in a dramatic showdown over a controversial eavesdropping program. Will he play ball?The Senate and House Intelligence Committees are asking former attorney general John Ashcroft to testify about a March 2004 hospital-room confrontation during which he refused to sign off on a continuation of President Bush’s warrantless eavesdropping program, according to congressional and administration sources.
The sources, who asked not to identified talking about sensitive matters, said the Senate Intelligence Committee has tentatively scheduled a closed-door hearing for later this month. The panel plans to question Ashcroft, his former chief of staff David Ayres and former deputy attorney general James Comey about a heated dispute with the White House that roiled the Justice Department three years ago. The House committee is also planning a separate closed-door hearing with Ashcroft, according to a spokeswoman for Ashcroft.
The requests for Ashcroft’s testimony reflect the mounting frustration on the part of committee leaders in both chambers who feel they have been denied vital information about the wiretapping issue by the Bush administration. Despite having received numerous private briefings from senior administration officials over the last year, members were stunned to learn just how deeply troubled the Justice Department was about aspects of the program—a glimpse they got only when Comey publicly testified about the program at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last month.
The invitation from Capitol Hill could also create a dilemma for Ashcroft, who prides himself on his loyalty to President Bush—despite clear tensions that arose with the White House over wiretapping and other issues related to the war on terror. Ashcroft, 65, now a Washington lobbyist, has steadfastly refused to make any public comment about the eavesdropping dispute. While confirming the House request, his spokeswoman, Juleanna Glover Weiss, said he was out of town and would be unavailable to discuss the matter until next week.
I kind of hope so. I don’t much like Isikoff’s phrase, "Will he play ball." It sounds like, "Will he turn against Bush and join up with the Democrats." That’s an absurd request. For example, James Comey, the man who told this story, is a principled Conservative. The key is "principled." So I don’t want Ashcroft to "play ball," I just want him to tell the truth. This country needs principled Conservatives. What we don’t need is unprincipled. inept know-it-all’s, which we have in great abundance. Comey winced at being the "darling of the Left." That’s part of the Bush craziness. I am a Liberal person. No question about it. But that’s not what drove me to be so rabid about this Administration. The thing that got me so riled up, is that I’m a Patriot. I actually believe in our form of government in spite of its flaws. I actually believe in checks and balances, and the Bill of Rights, and Separation of Church and State.So, I hope John Ashcroft does testify, and tells the truth. I think he might possibly be a Patriot. I promise, he’ll never be the darling of the Left. On the other hand, he has a chance to show us that there are people we can respect on the Right. We’ve had more than enough of the alternative…
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