House Judiciary To File Paperwork On Miers/Bolten Contempt Resolutions

The House Judiciary Committee will file paperwork for a criminal contempt resolution vote against Harriet Miers, former White House counsel, and Josh Bolten, the White House chief of staff, within the next few hours, according to a Democratic insider.

It does not mean there will necessarily be contempt votes on Miers and Bolten, but the contempt resolutions have to be filed with Lorraine Miller, the House Clerk, before any floor vote takes place.

The Judiciary Committee passed contempt resolutions against Miers and Bolten back on July 25 after they failed to respond to subpoenas issued by the committee as part of its investigation into the firing of nine U.S. attorneys last year. President Bush, citing executive privilege, refused to allow Miers or Bolten to testify before the panel, or make certain internal White House documents available to congressional investigators. The committee has not, until today, filed the actual contempt resolutions with Miler that it adopted over the summer.

Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), whose subcomittee conducted the prosecutor purge probe, are also expected to send another letter to the White House Counsel Fred Fielding (their ninth), urging him to negotiate over the subpoenas, said Democratic sources.

GOP leaders have begun to prepare their own counter-attack if a criminal contempt resolution vote takes place on the floor, and they plan to target conservative and moderate Democrats. Republicans see several moves that signal a vote is likely to happen soon, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has not made a final decision one way or the other at this time.