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Senate Panel Approves Subpoenas for 3 Top Bush Aides
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Sampson resigned March 12, and the next day Leahy and Gonzales had a chance encounter at a judicial conference at the Supreme Court. Gonzales requested to speak with Leahy, according to those who witnessed the event, and the senator rebuffed the attorney general by telling him the next time they spoke would be "under oath."
"I've had enough of these closed-door meetings," Leahy said at yesterday's committee meeting.
The investigation into the prosecutors' dismissals is moving on several fronts, in both chambers. The House Judiciary subcommittee on commercial and administrative law approved subpoenas Wednesday for Rove, Miers, Sampson, Kelley, and a deputy to Rove, Scott Jennings.
In addition, the panel approved subpoenas for a broad range of documents from the White House having anything to do with the prosecutors' ousters, rejecting Bush's offer to provide only communications with outside parties but not internal e-mails among top White House aides.
The Senate has not approved a subpoena for Jennings or for documents, but Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) suggested yesterday they will be forthcoming next week.
The House and Senate committees have subpoenaed a group of top aides at the Justice Department and, after Gonzales relented, are negotiating the terms of voluntary, private interviews before determining whether to issue the subpoenas and hold public hearings with their testimony.
The administration is more willing to allow the Justice officials to testify because the department falls under the oversight authority of the two Judiciary committees, whereas the White House staff has no direct controller in Congress.
Specter told reporters yesterday that he spoke with White House counsel Fred Fielding and made a counterproposal, suggesting that Rove and the other aides be interviewed by a small number of lawmakers in public, with a transcript prepared but not under oath. He said Fielding listened attentively but indicated he was not authorized to negotiate -- but said he would take the suggestion to Bush.
Staff writers Michael A. Fletcher and Michael Abramowitz contributed to this report.
