Sen. Leahy pressures DoJ on terrorism policies

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is keeping up pressure on the Bush administration to provide documents and testimony related to its terrorism policies. 

Leahy issued a subpoena Tuesday aimed at compelling Attorney General Michael Mukasey to provide testimony and hand over documents to the committee regarding legal analysis and advice from the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) about the policies, including detention and interrogation practices.

{mosads}Leahy and other Judiciary Committee members have sought the information for more than five years. In August, Leahy and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the panel’s ranking member, wrote to White House counsel Fred Fielding requesting specific documents and a comprehensive index of all OLC legal memos, letters and opinions written to advise the White House and agencies within the executive branch about the administration’s interrogation and detention policies.

“This administration’s stonewalling leaves this committee without basic facts that are essential to carrying out its oversight responsibilities,” Leahy wrote in a Tuesday letter to Mukasey. “There is no legitimate argument for withholding the requested materials from this committee. The executive branch should not obstruct Congress from conducting its constitutional oversight and lawmaking duties by making sweeping assertions of secrecy and privilege.”

Leahy noted in the letter that the subpoena could be satisfied without testimony if DoJ would provide a comprehensive and unredacted index of subpoenaed legal memos.

The judiciary panel authorized Leahy to issue the subpoena at a Sept. 25 business meeting. The deadline for DoJ to deliver the testimony and documents is Nov. 18 at 10 a.m.

DoJ spokesman Brian Roehrkasse lamented the subpoena because he said the department has been working with the committee in “good faith” to respond to its requests while maintaining the need to provide confidential advice within the executive branch.

“We regret that Chairman Leahy decided to issue this subpoena, which the committee authorized in a party-line vote last month, particularly since we have worked in good faith over the past several months to see that the Judiciary Committee’s legitimate oversight requests were being met in a manner consistent with the Justice Department’s equally legitimate and longstanding need to provide confidential legal advice within the executive branch,” Roehrkasse said. “We will now assess our next steps.”