February 29, 2008

AG Mukasey blocking investigation of criminal acts by Bush advisors

Attorney General Michael Mukasey has now decided not to investigate White House chief of staff Josh Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers for contempt of Congress.

Governor Sarah Palin today announced the appointment of eight advisers to the Yukon River Panel.

A letter from Attorney General Michael Mukasey was issued one day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked Mukasey to look into whether White House chief of staff Josh Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers committed contempt of Congress in its investigation of the 2006 firings of several U.S. attorneys.

Pelosi said the two were unresponsive to Congress's probe, while the White House argues that contempt laws don't apply to the president or any of his staffers who invoke executive privilege.

E-mails from top administration officials show that the idea of firing all 93 U.S. attorneys was raised by White House adviser Karl Rove in early January 2005, indicating Rove was way more involved in the scheme than the White House previously acknowledged.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Rove were both involved in the discussion, and neither rejected it out of hand.