Conyers Postpones Contempt Resolution Against Mukasey

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) decided to postpone a committee vote on Wednesday citing Attorney General Michael Mukasey for failing to comply with subpoenas to submit documents.

Conyers made the decision after the Justice Department turned over documents and requested that he defer the vote. More than 600 pages of documents responding to one of the 21 categories of the subpoena were submitted by the department Tuesday night, adding to the 4,887 pages it previously gave on civil rights.

The Judiciary panel subpoenaed Mukasey in June for documents, including unredacted reports of FBI interviews with President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney about the Valerie Plame controversy and documents regarding the prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, who has been temporarily released from prison to provide Congress with testimony about alleged politically-motivated dismissals of nine federal attorneys by the Bush administration. Conyers had also requested for opinions made by the Office of Legal Counsel about national security and civil rights, particularly one dated Oct. 23, 2001.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee had also threatened Mukasey with contempt last month over the Plame documents. The Justice Department had cited executive privilege and concerns about separation of powers in its refusal to comply with subpoena from both committees.

Waxman said on Wednesday his committee will expect the department to turn over the subpoenaed documents by next week. "I hope that we and our staffs can redouble our efforts and can reach an agreement concerning production of the remaining subpoenaed documents in advance of our meeting this week, and certainly before next week's Judiciary Committee markup," he said in his letter to Mukasey. Discussions between former Vice President chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove.and two other former administration officials with reporters in 2003 regarding Plame's CIA employment caused a criminal investigation that involved questioning the President.

Plame's role as CIA operative was revealed about a week after her husband, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson, accused the administration of manipulating prewar intelligence to exaggerate the Iraqi threat. The federal probe found Libby guilty of perjury and obstruction of justice in March 2007; his 30-month prison sentence was commuted by President Bush.