Michael Isikoff: Congress Wants Ashcroft's Testimony (Newsweek, via Truthout)

[marmar]

Congress Wants Ashcroft's Testimony
By Michael Isikoff
Newsweek

Friday 01 June 2007

The House and Senate Intelligence Committees have asked the former attorney general to testify about his role in a dramatic showdown over a controversial eavesdropping program. Will he play ball?

The Senate and House Intelligence Committees are asking former attorney general John Ashcroft to testify about a March 2004 hospital-room confrontation during which he refused to sign off on a continuation of President Bush's warrantless eavesdropping program, according to congressional and administration sources.

The sources, who asked not to identified talking about sensitive matters, said the Senate Intelligence Committee has tentatively scheduled a closed-door hearing for later this month. The panel plans to question Ashcroft, his former chief of staff David Ayres and former deputy attorney general James Comey about a heated dispute with the White House that roiled the Justice Department three years ago. The House committee is also planning a separate closed-door hearing with Ashcroft, according to a spokeswoman for Ashcroft.

The requests for Ashcroft's testimony reflect the mounting frustration on the part of committee leaders in both chambers who feel they have been denied vital information about the wiretapping issue by the Bush administration. Despite having received numerous private briefings from senior administration officials over the last year, members were stunned to learn just how deeply troubled the Justice Department was about aspects of the program - a glimpse they got only when Comey publicly testified about the program at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last month.

The invitation from Capitol Hill could also create a dilemma for Ashcroft, who prides himself on his loyalty to President Bush - despite clear tensions that arose with the White House over wiretapping and other issues related to the war on terror. Ashcroft, 65, now a Washington lobbyist, has steadfastly refused to make any public comment about the eavesdropping dispute. While confirming the House request, his spokeswoman, Juleanna Glover Weiss, said he was out of town and would be unavailable to discuss the matter until next week.

Administration officials and congressional staffers say Ashcroft will have difficulty finding a reason to refuse to talk about it at this point - especially in closed-door hearings, given that Comey has already publicly recounted the dispute. Although Ashcroft is a private citizen, Justice officials expect that he will likely seek their guidance on how far he can go in discussing the issue. A meeting has been scheduled for this Monday by Senate Intelligence Committee aides and Justice Department officials to discuss the "contours" of the testimony, one official said. If Ashcroft declined to cooperate, the committees could ultimately issue subpoenas. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060207A.shtml