House Judiciary Committee Files Brief in Civil Lawsuit Against Miers and Bolten

(Washington, DC) - Today, the Office of the United States House of Representatives General Counsel, on behalf of the House Judiciary Committee, filed a XX-page brief supporting its request for partial summary judgment in the civil lawsuit against former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and opposing the Justice Department's motion to dismiss the case. The committee’s position was also supported by four amicus “friend of the court” briefs submitted to the court - pending court acceptance - by a bipartisan array of former United States attorneys, current and former members of Congress, and prominent legal and academic experts and organizations.

The committee's brief, filed today, states: “The department’s motion and opposition, on behalf of Harriet Miers and Joshua Bolten are the culmination of a series of actions – false and misleading public statements by department officials, including the former attorney general; White House refusals to negotiate in good faith; and defendants’ contumacious disobedience to validly issued and served congressional subpoenas – to cover-up executive branch activities and to inhibit core functions of the legislative branch.”

The amicus briefs - which were submitted along with formal requests for court permission to file them - are detailed below:

Memorandum of Amici Curiae in Opposition to Defendent's Motion to Dismiss: Thomas E. Mann, Norman J. Ornstein, Mark J. Rozell, and Mitchel A. Sollenberger; represented by Barry Coburn. The four scholars are experts on the Congress and executive privilege.

Brief of Former United States Attorneys as Amici Curiae in Support of Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment: Represented by Lawrence S. Robbins, Donald J. Russell, Alan Strasser, and Brian Perez-Daple. (Notable amici include Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), former N.M. U.S Attorney David Iglesias, former Illinois U.S. Attorney Dan K. Webb, and former Michigan U.S. Attorney James K. Robinson; list includes a bipartisan group of former U.S. attorneys appointed by every president since Lyndon B. Johnson except Gerald Ford.)

Memorandum Amici Curaie in Opposition to Defendant's Motion to Dismiss: The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, Rutherford Institute, Judicial Watch, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW) in Washington; represented by Attorneys for the Brennan Center, Frederick A.O. Schwarz, Jr. and Aziz Huq, and Counsel of Record Sidney S. Rosdeitcher. The groups are government watchdog organizations representing both the left and right wings of the political spectrum.

Memorandum Amici Curaie: Current and Former members of Congress including Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), former Republican Senator and Defense Secretary William S. Cohen, former Republican Rep. Mickey Edwards, and former Republican Rep. Thomas B. Evans; Represented by James Hamilton, formerly of the Watergate committee staff, and Robert Zener of Bingham law firm.

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