Judge Orders Report On Firing Of 9 U.S. Attorneys Be Handed Over To Incoming President Barack Obama

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Obama To Receive Report On Fired U.S. Attorneys

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Jan 13, 2009 10:15 am US/Mountain

Obama To Receive Report On Fired U.S. Attorneys

House Judiciary Committee Requested Documents As Part Of Investigation Of Former Attorney General

Transition To A New Government

WASHINGTON (AP) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: Tuesday's order by U.S. District Judge John Bates is a minor victory for the House Judiciary Committee's effort to get the documents as part of an investigation that led to the resignation of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. (File)
AP

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Judge: Bush Aides Not Above Law, Can Be Subpoenaed
(7/31/2008)
House Panel: Karl Rove Is In Contempt Of Congress
(7/30/2008)
Rove Ignores House Subpoena, No-Show At Hearing
(7/10/2008)
W.H. Contempt Charges Loom In Attorney Firings
(11/5/2007)
House Sues For Testimony From 2 White House Aides
(3/10/2008)
Panel Approves Contempt Charges For Bush Aides
(7/25/2007)
Bush May Claim Privilege To Block Aides' Testimony
(8/2/2007)
White House Stonewalls Firings Probe
(7/11/2007)

A federal judge says the incoming administration of Barack Obama must be given copies of documents the Bush White House has been withholding from Congress on the firings of nine U.S. attorneys.

Tuesday's order by U.S. District Judge John Bates is a minor victory for the House Judiciary Committee's effort to get the documents as part of an investigation that led to the resignation of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Bates agreed with the committee that if Congress wins its court fight over the documents that they would not be readily available once they were shipped to the National Archives when President George W. Bush leaves office on Jan. 20.

In addition to the fight over documents, Congress is pressing for former White House officials Karl Rove and Harriet Miers and current White House chief of staff Josh Bolten to testify about the firings. Bush has refused to let his former aides testify in public.

The House responded by finding Miers and Bolten in contempt. The Senate Judiciary Committee found Rove and Bolten in contempt for refusing to cooperate with a similar inquiry into the dismissal of nine U.S. attorneys.

Questions over the prosecutor firings led to the resignation of Gonzales, a longtime ally of the president, and the departure of dozens of top officials at the Justice Department.

Internal Justice Department investigations found that Gonzales' aides broke the law by letting Bush administration politics dictate the hiring of prosecutors, immigration judges and other career government lawyers.