A Principled Response

What a surprise: the White House is delaying its decision on whether to provide requested documents and officials to the House Judiciary Committee investigating the firing of eight US Attorneys. From today's Los Angeles Times:

Congressional Democrats and the Bush administration hit an impasse Friday in the probe into the firing of eight U.S. attorneys, with White House officials delaying decisions to turn over documents or allow officials to testify and the House Judiciary Committee threatening subpoenas to force them to comply. ...

On Capitol Hill, Democrats said they were losing patience with the administration, especially as the release of a separate batch of documents from the Justice Department, expected Friday, was postponed until Monday.

"The White House is playing a dangerous game of chicken," said Rep. Linda T. Sanchez (D-Lakewood), chairwoman of the House subcommittee leading the probe. "The White House cannot ignore this investigation."

The White House response to the request for more documents makes it clear that more than an adolescent game of chicken is involved:

"Given the importance of the issues under consideration and the presidential principles involved, we need more time to resolve them," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, adding that officials would get back to the committee Tuesday regarding the House subpoenas. [Emphasis added]

The "principles" involved, of course, are encapsulated in this administration's dangerously bizarre theory of the "Unitary President" whose powers trump Congress, the courts, and the US Constitution every time. The White House has been building this theory from the very start of the Bush administration. The first clear evidence was the White House energy meetings chaired by Vice President Cheney. We still don't know what was discussed at that meeting or even who was in attendance. That kind of secrecy continues, unabated.

The only response the Democratic Congress should have to the White House assertion is fairly clear, and John Conyers knows it.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) said he would schedule votes on subpoenas Thursday for two key players in the burgeoning scandal — Bush political advisor Karl Rove and ex-White House Counsel Harriet E. Miers.

If the White House decides to fight the subpoena process and thereby provoke a Constitutional crisis, so be it. That will be one battle well-worth waging.