LoungeMachine
01-07-2007, 10:34 AM
Bush goes on the hunt for a good lawyer
By Philip Sherwell in New York and Hans Nichols in Washington, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 12:29am GMT 07/01/2007
President George W Bush is about to unveil a new, hard-nosed White House legal counsel as his administration braces itself against a siege of subpoenas and demands for evidence from the new Democrat-controlled Congress.
Mr Bush accepted the resignation of Harriet Miers, his friend and in-house counsel, after close aides persuaded him that she was not tough enough to fend off the expected Democrat onslaught over Iraq and other sensitive issues.
The White House is expected to announce her replacement in the coming days and also intends to expand the legal office well beyond its present dozen lawyers. That is far fewer than represented Bill Clinton, Mr Bush's predecessor, in a series of showdowns with the Republican congressional majority in the late-1990s.
advertisementThe most serious challenge Mr Clinton faced was impeachment proceedings in 1998 over his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Although Democrat leaders have ruled out trying to impeach Mr Bush over Iraq, new committee chairmen have made clear that they will investigate a series of policies aggressively.
Emboldened after years in the minority, the Democrats intend to question the role of prewar intelligence in Iraq, whether politically connected companies were awarded lucrative reconstruction contracts, the policy of "renditioning" Islamist terrorist suspects to secret prisons abroad, and the domestic wire-tapping programme. They also want to investigate the role of oil companies in determining energy policy and how the White House handled Hurricane Katrina. "We're going to send them more subpoenas than they can read," vowed one senior Democrat.
A Republican strategist told The Sunday Telegraph: "For all the talk of bipartisanship… nobody in the administration doubts that the Democrats are going to go for the jugular." After Ms Miers's resignation, another adviser said: "The White House knew they needed a tough street-fighter. That's what this is about."
Mr Clinton drafted Bruce Lindsey, a lawyer and friend from his days as governor of Arkansas, on to his legal team to play the role of "captain of the defence" in the bruising battles with Kenneth Starr, independent counsel, over the so-called Whitewater scandal and the Lewinsky affair.
Justice Department lawyers have been meeting colleagues from the FBI and other agencies to discuss strategy for handling demands for documents and, perhaps most awkwardly, the appearance of administration officials for testimony. In an early sign of the conflict ahead, they have turned down a request for documents relating to secret CIA detention facilities abroad. Further clashes are expected if Democrats try to summons Mr Bush's deputy, Dick Cheney.
Ms Miers found herself at the centre of a political firestorm in 2005 when social conservatives condemned Mr Bush for nominating her to be a Supreme Court justice, saying she lacked the ideological rigour for such an influential post. She withdrew her name, allowing Mr Bush to appease his critics and choose a conservative legal jurist instead.
While Democrats boast of their intent, Republicans are drawing up their own plans to put the behaviour of the new congressional majority under scrutiny. Even as Nancy Pelosi, the new House Speaker, made ethics reform the showpiece of her party's first 100 hours in power, she was reminded that some of her own lieutenants have chequered pasts.
Last week John Conyers, a veteran black Democrat congressman, was forced to "accept responsibility" for violating House rules by requiring official staff to perform campaign-related work. Despite that, Mrs Pelosi had little choice but to elevate him to chairman of the House judiciary committee for fear of antagonising the powerful congressional black caucus.
By Philip Sherwell in New York and Hans Nichols in Washington, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 12:29am GMT 07/01/2007
President George W Bush is about to unveil a new, hard-nosed White House legal counsel as his administration braces itself against a siege of subpoenas and demands for evidence from the new Democrat-controlled Congress.
Mr Bush accepted the resignation of Harriet Miers, his friend and in-house counsel, after close aides persuaded him that she was not tough enough to fend off the expected Democrat onslaught over Iraq and other sensitive issues.
The White House is expected to announce her replacement in the coming days and also intends to expand the legal office well beyond its present dozen lawyers. That is far fewer than represented Bill Clinton, Mr Bush's predecessor, in a series of showdowns with the Republican congressional majority in the late-1990s.
advertisementThe most serious challenge Mr Clinton faced was impeachment proceedings in 1998 over his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Although Democrat leaders have ruled out trying to impeach Mr Bush over Iraq, new committee chairmen have made clear that they will investigate a series of policies aggressively.
Emboldened after years in the minority, the Democrats intend to question the role of prewar intelligence in Iraq, whether politically connected companies were awarded lucrative reconstruction contracts, the policy of "renditioning" Islamist terrorist suspects to secret prisons abroad, and the domestic wire-tapping programme. They also want to investigate the role of oil companies in determining energy policy and how the White House handled Hurricane Katrina. "We're going to send them more subpoenas than they can read," vowed one senior Democrat.
A Republican strategist told The Sunday Telegraph: "For all the talk of bipartisanship… nobody in the administration doubts that the Democrats are going to go for the jugular." After Ms Miers's resignation, another adviser said: "The White House knew they needed a tough street-fighter. That's what this is about."
Mr Clinton drafted Bruce Lindsey, a lawyer and friend from his days as governor of Arkansas, on to his legal team to play the role of "captain of the defence" in the bruising battles with Kenneth Starr, independent counsel, over the so-called Whitewater scandal and the Lewinsky affair.
Justice Department lawyers have been meeting colleagues from the FBI and other agencies to discuss strategy for handling demands for documents and, perhaps most awkwardly, the appearance of administration officials for testimony. In an early sign of the conflict ahead, they have turned down a request for documents relating to secret CIA detention facilities abroad. Further clashes are expected if Democrats try to summons Mr Bush's deputy, Dick Cheney.
Ms Miers found herself at the centre of a political firestorm in 2005 when social conservatives condemned Mr Bush for nominating her to be a Supreme Court justice, saying she lacked the ideological rigour for such an influential post. She withdrew her name, allowing Mr Bush to appease his critics and choose a conservative legal jurist instead.
While Democrats boast of their intent, Republicans are drawing up their own plans to put the behaviour of the new congressional majority under scrutiny. Even as Nancy Pelosi, the new House Speaker, made ethics reform the showpiece of her party's first 100 hours in power, she was reminded that some of her own lieutenants have chequered pasts.
Last week John Conyers, a veteran black Democrat congressman, was forced to "accept responsibility" for violating House rules by requiring official staff to perform campaign-related work. Despite that, Mrs Pelosi had little choice but to elevate him to chairman of the House judiciary committee for fear of antagonising the powerful congressional black caucus.