Washington D.C. – Congressman Brad Miller (D-NC) today introduced legislation to allow Congress to ask for a special prosecutor for criminal Contempt of Congress charges against executive branch officials.

 

“The law explicitly requires the Justice Department to present Contempt of Congress charges to the grand jury, but the Bush Administration claims Congress can not compel a U.S. attorney to prosecute contempt cases where the White House claims executive privilege,” said Rep. Miller.  “Other presidents have made bodacious claims about their powers, but always compromised in the end. No president, not even Nixon, has gone this far before.”

 

In February, the House approved contempt citations against White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers for ignoring subpoenas in the investigations into the firings of U.S. attorneys for political reasons. However, the U.S. Attorney, at the direction of the President, refused to prosecute the contempt citation. More recently, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) issued a subpoena to former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove for testimony about politically motivated prosecution of prominent Democrats.

 

Under Congressman Miller’s bill, the Special Criminal Contempt of Congress Procedures Act, a federal court can appoint an independent “Special Advocate” to investigate and prosecute alleged Contempt of Congress charges passed by the House of Representatives against current and former executive branch employees, when the Justice Department fails to do so. Like the expired Independent Counsel statute, the Special Advocate established by Miller’s bill would technically work for the Attorney General, and thus be an employee of the executive branch. In practice, the Special Advocate would be largely independent from both the executive and legislative branches and not subject to undue political influences.  Unlike the former Office of Independent Counsel, the Special Advocate would have a specific mandate, a finite budget, and a fixed two-year term of office.

 

“Congress has to protect its powers under the Constitution to hold the President accountable whether Bush, McCain or Obama is in the oval office,” added Miller. “This bill gives Congress a way to enforce contempt in the future and restores constitutional checks and balances when the Justice Department refuses to act.”

 

Congressman Miller’s bill is co-sponsored by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee; Rep. Linda T. Sanchez, Chairwoman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law; and Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Chairman of the Constitution Subcommittee.

 

“This bill will ensure that a political appointee can not block the wheels of justice when the House refers a contempt citation to the Attorney General,” said Rep. Sanchez.

 

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