Conyers Threatens to Subpoena Ex-DOJ Officials
U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr., the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is threatening to subpoena former Justice Department officials who are refusing to testify about torture policies.
Former Attorney General John Ashcroft and an ex-member of his Justice Department, John Yoo, have already refused requests to testify, the Washington Post reports. The vice president’s chief of staff, David Addington, was also asked to testify next week, but his lawyer said “he is not in a position to speak on behalf of the president.”
Conyers said in letters to the three men that he will “have no choice but to consider the use of compulsory process” if they do not testify next week.
Addington played a key role in developing and drafting terrorism and detainee policies after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Yoo, now a law professor at the University of California at Berkeley, wrote several controversial memos on the legality of harsh interrogation techniques when he was deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel. His lawyer said in a letter that Yoo’s testimony would present “difficult issues of executive privilege and attorney-client privilege.” The lawyer also noted Yoo is a defendant in suits filed by civil liberties groups challenging national security policies.
Ashcroft also cited the lawsuits, attorney-client privilege and executive privilege.
