Bush Comes Up Empty

"The White House has done outreach to liberal religious and Hispanic groups and, at the suggestion of chief political strategist Karl Rove, made more use of the blogosphere on immigration than it has on any issue since President Bush took office, aides said. . . .

"Aides said it was Rove's idea to focus on blogs. After vetting by policy experts, responses have been posted on a wide range of blogs under the names of Kerrie Rushton and Nicholas Thompson, both associate directors in the Office of Strategic Initiatives, which falls under Rove's domain."

Subpoena Time

Dan Eggen and Paul Kane report for The Washington Post: "The House and Senate Judiciary panels issued subpoenas today for former White House counsel Harriet Miers and others, escalating the legal showdown between Democrats in Congress and the Bush administration over the Justice Department's firing of nine U.S. attorneys last year.

"The House Judiciary Committee issued a subpoena for testimony and documents from Miers, while the Senate Judiciary panel issued subpoenas demanding the same from Sara M. Taylor, former White House political director. Both panels also issued separate subpoenas for White House documents related to the dismissals.

"'By refusing to cooperate with congressional committees, the White House continues its pattern of confrontation over cooperation,' said Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate panel. 'The White House cannot have it both ways -- it cannot stonewall congressional investigations by refusing to provide documents and witnesses while claiming nothing improper occurred.'"

The subpoenas come a day after newly released Justice Department documents revealed more about Taylor and Miers's involvement in the firings.

Eggen writes in the Washington Post: "Several high-ranking White House officials were closely involved in crafting a public response to the uproar over the firing of a group of U.S. attorneys, according to documents released late yesterday.

"Then-White House counsel Harriet E. Miers and aides to presidential adviser Karl Rove were deeply enmeshed in debates over how to respond to the controversy as early as mid-January, when Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) questioned the spate of prosecutor departures in a Senate floor speech, according to e-mails that the Justice Department turned over to the House and Senate judiciary committees. . . .

"The 46 pages of e-mails show that Miers and others -- including her deputy, William Kelley, and the White House political affairs director at the time, Sara M. Taylor -- were involved in spirited and sometimes angry e-mail exchanges as the secretive firings operation began to unravel in public. Many of the exchanges also included D. Kyle Sampson, who coordinated the firings as Gonzales's chief of staff.

"White House officials appeared to be particularly concerned about the political fallout over the firing of prosecutor Bud Cummins of Little Rock, who was replaced by Tim Griffin, a former Rove aide. On Feb. 16, for example, Taylor sharply criticized the testimony of Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty, who had told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Cummins was removed to make way for Griffin. The subject line of the e-mails read: 'McNulty Strikes Again.'"

Margaret Talev and Marisa Taylor write for McClatchy Newspapers: "'Tim was put in a horrible position; hung out to dry w/ no heads up,' Taylor lashed out in the e-mail, which was sent from a Republican Party account rather than from her White House e-mail address. 'This is not good for his long-term career.'"

Bush and the Law

Jess Bravin writes in the Wall Street Journal: "The Bush administration's effort to create a separate legal system for the war on terrorism may be foundering.