Conyers Issues Subpoena To DOJ For Bush-Cheney Interviews On Plame Leak

House Judiciary Committee John Conyers has issed a subpoena to the Justice Dept. for the unredacted interviews with President Bush and Vice President Cheney on former CIA operative Valerie Plame, as well as numerous other documents sought unsuccessfully by Democrats for years.

Conyers is also seeking FBI notes of interviews with some top former White House officials, including Karl Rove, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Scott McClellan, Dan Bartlett and Andrew Card.

The committee also wants unreleased memos from DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel, including an Oct. 23, 2001, memo related to use of American military forces to combat terrorism within the United States.

In addition, Conyers is seeking any materials in DOJ's possession related to the 2002 New Hampshire "phone jamming" incident, the firing of a U.S. attorney in Minnesota, the department's civil rights activities, and "selective prosecution" of Democratic politicians such as former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman.

The subpoena was issued to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, and it demands production of the documents by July 7.

Former special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald interviewed Bush and Cheney as part of his investigation into the outing of Plame. Plame is married to former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson, an outspoken opponent of Bush's claim that Iraq was trying to acquire uranium for a nuclear weapons programs prior to the U.S. invasion in 2003.

After Wilson went public on the details of a CIA-backed mission he undertook to Niger to investigate claims that Iraq was attempting to acquire uranium yellowcake, Plame's identity was leaked to reporters. A criminal probe by Fitzgerald was initiated, and Libby — Cheney's former chief of staff — was eventually convicted to perjury and obstruction of justice. His sentence was commuted by Bush.

You can read a copy of a June 27 letter from Conyers to Mukasey, as well as the new subpoena here.