WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee sued former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten on Monday, setting up a constitutional clash over the Bush administration’s refusal to provide testimony and documents about the firing of U.S. attorneys.
The lawsuit says Miers is not immune to the obligation to testify and that she and Bolten must identify all documents that are being withheld from Congress regarding what Democrats say were politically motivated dismissals of nine U.S. attorneys, including the one for Western Washington.
White House Counsel Fred Fielding said such information is private and covered by executive privilege, the doctrine intended to protect the confidentiality of presidential communications.
The lawsuit pointed out that the president was not personally involved in communications subpoenaed from Bolten and that the president was not involved in the decision to force U.S. attorneys to resign.
The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge John Bates, an appointee of President Bush and a former prosecutor in the Whitewater criminal investigation of the Clintons in the 1990s.
Georgia: Free care for veterans
An Atlanta rehabilitation hospital will provide free care to wounded military veterans who need brain or spinal cord injury services that aren’t covered by the government, hospital officials said Monday. The Shepherd Center has promised to provide a range of testing, care and rehabilitation services. It’s part of a philanthropic effort driven by Bernie Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot Inc.
Arkansas: College student killed
A student at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville was killed at her off-campus apartment and a former student she knew was arrested in Oklahoma, police and the university said. Katharine Wood, 24, a senior English major from Greenbrier, was found dead Sunday morning, police and the university said. Police did not say how Wood died. Oklahoma State Highway Police officers arrested Zachariah Marcyniuk, 28, of Fayetteville on a first-degree murder charge.
Alabama: Confession in student’s death
A man charged with killing an Auburn University student told police he tried to rape her before he shot her, according to documents read in court Monday. Lauren Burk, an 18-year-old freshman from Marietta, Ga., lived in an apartment near campus and was found on a roadside about five miles from the university. The documents read in court said suspect Courtney Lockhart, 23, described verbally and in writing how he abducted Burk from the university, robbed her, drove her around, told her to take her clothes off and shot her with a handgun.
Florida: Shuttle launching today
Space shuttle Endeavour was poised for an early morning launch from Cape Canaveral today to the international space station and the longest visit ever to the orbiting outpost, 16 days. Endeavour’s seven-man crew will deliver part of a new Japanese lab to the space station as well as a Canadian robot designed to help with outside maintenance.
Officer charged in police dog’s death
Miami Police Officer Rondal Laroy Brown, 48, surrendered Monday to face animal cruelty and other charges in the death of his K-9 partner, a female bloodhound named Dynasty. In November, when she died, the 4-year-old dog weighed only 33 pounds, had sunken eyes and missing hair. A necropsy revealed Dynasty suffered from severe malnutrition and dehydration.
Mexico: SUV crash kills 9 children
A sport utility vehicle fell into a canal in central Mexico on Monday, killing nine children but leaving their teacher unharmed, a city official said. The children, ages 3 to 6, were heading to their teacher’s house for lunch Monday when the SUV they were traveling in fell into a canal outside the town of Cardenas in Guanajuato state, a local official said. There was no guardrail between the road and the canal, officials said.
Argentina: Baby monkey snatched from zoo
Thieves stole a baby monkey from a packed Argentine zoo southeast of Buenos Aires by creating a distraction, grabbing the animal and fleeing over a fence, officials said. Titi monkeys are sometimes traded illegally as pets.
Thailand: Alleged pedophile’s trial begins
A Canadian arrested after Interpol unscrambled his swirled digital images from Internet photos went on trial Monday in Bangkok, accused of sexually abusing a 9-year-old Thai boy. Christopher Paul Neil, a 32-year-old teacher who worked in several Asian countries, has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors plan to introduce about 70 photographs that allegedly show Neil engaging in sexual acts and playing with naked or partially clothed young boys.
From Herald news services
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
