Vacation Over, Congress To Battle Bush
Congressmen returning from their Independence Day break are ready for battle with the White House, with Democrats decrying President Bush's commutation of former aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's prison sentence and fighting Mr. Bush's latest claim of executive privilege.
Both events occurred around Congress' vacation, inflaming an intense battle between Democrats and Mr. Bush over his use of executive power. There was relatively high tension on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue as majority Democrats — and increasing numbers of Republicans — challenged Mr. Bush's Iraq war policy.
The Senate is expected to start debate this week on a bill authorizing military spending in Iraq for the fiscal year starting in October.
Perhaps most significantly, there is now debate inside the administration about whether to begin pulling out troops a lot earlier than previously expected, CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante reports.
Meanwhile, several Democratic-run investigations are playing out this week as they head toward contempt of Congress citations and, if neither side yields, federal court:
On Iraq, Democrats expect to resume legislative challenges to Mr. Bush's policy on the war as the Senate this week takes up a major defense spending bill. The administration has been concerned about an escalation of Iraqi war fervor. So much so that Defense Secretary Robert Gates canceled a four-nation South American tour this week to work with the White House on Iraq policy.
There have been no decisions made within the White House regarding any changes to the Iraq strategy, but the most pressing question is how to keep more Republicans from distancing themselves publicly from the Mr. Bush's policy, Plante reports.
Last week, Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., expressed doubts over the current U.S. military tack in Iraq, joining a recent wave of fellow GOP senators that includes John Warner of Virginia, George Voinovich of Ohio and Richard Lugar of Indiana.
The weeklong Fourth of July break did not cool disputes between Congress and the White House. In fact, Mr. Bush's commutation of Libby's prison sentence teed up a new project for Democratic investigators.
Leahy and others said they suspect that Mr. Bush commuted Libby's sentence to keep Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff from revealing internal White House discussions.
So they are talking to the prosecutor in the CIA case, Patrick Fitzgerald, about testifying before Congress, several senators said Sunday.
"I think you may very well see Mr. Fitzgerald before the Senate Judiciary Committee," Leahy said on CNN's "Late Edition."
Through White House Counsel Fred Fielding, Mr. Bush declared executive privilege on the documents subpoenaed by the committees. He argued that releasing them would damage the confidential nature of advice given the president. The Judiciary Committee chairmen demanded that the White House explain the decision more fully by Monday.
The Washington Post, citing unidentified sources, reported Sunday that Fielding was expected to tell lawmakers that he already has provided the legal basis for the executive privilege claims and does not intend to hand over the documentation sought.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, a senior Republican on Leahy's committee, defended the White House.
"There comes a point where the White House has to say, 'Hey, look there are certain confidential things in the White House that we're not going to share with Congress, just like there are certain confidential things in Congress that we're not going to share with the White House,"' Hatch, R-Utah, said on CBS' Face the Nation.
Both Leahy and House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., have said they would move toward holding those named in the subpoenas in contempt of Congress if they do not comply.