Executive Branch
House Holds Ex-White House Counsel, Chief of Staff in Contempt
Posted Feb 14, 2008, 01:49 pm CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
The House has voted to hold former White House counsel Harriet Miers and chief of staff Josh Bolten in contempt for failing to cooperate in a probe of the firing of nine U.S. attorneys.
Angry Republicans walked out in advance of the vote, the Associated Press reports. The vote was 223-32.
The Bush administration has argued that the information sought from Miers and Bolten is protected by executive privilege.
The White House says the Justice Department won’t ask the U.S. attorney to pursue the contempt charges, but the House resolution authorizes a civil suit to compel testimony from Miers and Bolten, The Hill reports.