At Capitol, a new agenda

[maddezmom]

WASHINGTON -- The attorney general, several members of his staff and a senior White House aide face threats of subpoenas to testify before a congressional committee unless they volunteer to cooperate with a congressional investigation.

Once-private e-mails between the White House and Justice Department, revealing presidential adviser Karl Rove's interest in talk of dismissing all or some of the nation's 93 federal prosecutors, appear on television screens nationwide.

Valerie Plame, the formerly covert CIA operative whose identity was leaked by members of the Bush administration, testifies openly on Capitol Hill about being "carelessly abused by senior government officials in both the White House and the State Department."


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Everything from the leaks in the summer of 2003 that exposed a CIA operative's identity to the more recent revelations of the deterioration at Walter Reed Army Medical Center are becoming fodder for congressional investigations by Democratic committee heads eager to wield new investigative powers.

"The fact that there are discussions about isn't just due to the change in the House--it's the fact that we even know about these things now," said Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.). "They wouldn't have come to light otherwise, because Republicans protected this administration on the whole.

more:http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0703170117mar17,1,5525669.story?track=rss