Court Stays Order Requiring Testimony on Prosecutor Firings
In a victory for the Bush administration, a federal appeals court has refused to require White House officials to testify or produce documents about the firings of nine U.S. attorneys.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted a stay of a lower court order requiring cooperation with the House Judiciary Committee’s firing probe, the Washington Post reports. The appeals court granted the stay pending an appeal and refused to grant an expedited hearing in the case, Legal Times reports.
The appeals court ruling (PDF) did not reach the merits of the case. The court said the dispute over balance of powers had “potentially great significance” but it could become moot if the new Congress does not pursue subpoenas.
The lower court’s stayed order had required former White House counsel Harriet Miers to appear before the House Judiciary Committee, although it allowed her to assert claims of privilege in response to particular questions. The stayed order also required Miers and White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten to produce documents or identify those being withheld because of privilege claims.
Concurring Judge David Tatel questioned the panel’s decision to grant a stay. “I am perplexed by the panel majority’s willingness to grant a stay while hypothesizing that the expiration of the 110th Congress might moot the case before it is heard on the merits,” he wrote. “Never have we granted a stay that would have the effect of irrevocably depriving a party of its victory in the district court. Nor have we authority to do so.”
