From American Progress:
ETHICS -- WHITE HOUSE TO ARGUE IT IS IMMUNE TO SUBPOENAS:
Today, the refusal Bush administration's to honor House Judiciary Committee subpoenas compelling White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers to testify, will be considered today in federal court.
The committee is seeking information into the 2006 dismissal of nine U.S. attorneys, but the White House claims that executive privilege allows the White House to ignore subpoenas, asserting that the executive branch has "absolute immunity" to congressional subpoenas.
The House will argue that the Bush administration "is seeking to expand presidential power in a dramatic fashion, one that cannot go unchallenged by Congress."
An array of "former U.S. attorneys, watchdog groups, congressional experts, and current and former lawmakers" have filed briefs supporting the House's position. The lawsuit came after Attorney General Michael Mukasey ordered the Department of Justice to ignore the House's contempt citations.
Oral arguments today come just two days after Bush again asserted executive privilege, this time in refusing to hand over documents related to an investigation into whether the administration has "pressured the Environmental Protection Agency to weaken decisions on smog and greenhouse."
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