Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives have produced a report that for the first time alleges specific ways that several administration officials may have broken the law during the multiple firings of federal prosecutors last year.
The report, which was released Tuesday, says that Congress's seven-month investigation into the firings raises "serious concerns" that senior White House and Justice Department aides involved in the removal of nine U.S. attorneys may have obstructed justice and violated federal statutes that protect civil service employees, prohibit political retaliation against government officials and cover presidential records, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.
The 52-page memorandum, from House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, seeks to explain why Democrats are trying to overcome an effort by the White House to shield officials and documents from the congressional inquiry through a claim of executive privilege. The report also provides the first written account of the Democrats' interpretation of the firings and the administration's response to the controversy.
The investigation "has uncovered serious evidence of wrongdoing by the department and White House staff," Conyers said.
The memorandum says the probe has turned up evidence that some of the U.S. attorneys were improperly selected for firing because of their handling of vote fraud allegations, public corruption cases or other cases that could affect close elections. It also says that Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and senior Justice aides "appear to have made false or misleading statements to Congress, many of which sought to minimize the role of White House personnel."
In addition, the memorandum asserts repeatedly that the president's top political adviser, Karl Rove, was the first administration official to broach the idea of firing U.S. attorneys shortly after the 2004 elections -- an assertion the White House has said is not true.
The memorandum says that lawmakers need access to White House information to determine whether laws were broken and to rewrite laws regarding U.S. attorneys.
Meanwhile, the Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on two contempt-of-Congress resolutions on Wednesday. One is against White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten, the custodian of the e-mails and other documents related to the firings that lawmakers have been seeking, and the other is against former White House counsel Harriet Miers, who was subpoenaed to testify before the panel two weeks ago but did not appear.
Source: Xinhua
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