Dems Delay Contempt Vote on White House Officials

Way back in July, the House Judiciary Committee voted to find White House chief of staff Josh Bolten and former counsel Harriet Miers in contempt of Congress for failing to respond to a committee subpoena relating to the U.S. attorney firings investigation.

Today, John Bresnahan over at the Politico reports that the Democratic leadership is unlikely to push for a full vote in the House until late September at the earliest. The reason, he reports, is that Democrats haven’t yet “briefed lawmakers on what it would mean and how the controversy would play out, both legally and politically”:

“I don’t think anything is going to happen on that for a while,” said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.). “When you decide to do that, you have to make your best case. You want everyone to understand what’s happening and why.”

Emanuel said Pelosi and other top Democrats have not begun those consultations yet — and he was unsure when they would.

Conyers said it was critical for Congress to enforce its subpoenas against executive branch officials, including senior White House aides.

“Otherwise, we just become a [social] club,” Conyers said, adding that he would be reviewing the issue with Pelosi soon.