That stalling tactic on document production from the DoJ to Congress finally got old. A Subpoena duces tecum has been issued for any and all documentary evidence pertaining to the USAtty firings, with a return date of April 16th at 2:00 pm ET at the Rayburn Building. Cue the flash photography.
Via reader nolo, we get a peek at the letter and subpoena duces tecum language from Rep. Conyers' House Judiciary Committee to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Here is the link directly to the original letter and subpoena text. (PDF) [..]
A subpoena duces tecum is a legal summons which requires you to bring documents with you to an appearance - for these purposes, to the Judiciary Committee staff, for their review. In this case, the Judiciary Committee is requesting the following in its subpoena: complete and unredacted copies of any and all documents pertaining to the firing of USAttys and any and all consideration of potential replacements thereto; complete and unredacted copies of communication with members of Congress about said terminations and/or replacements; complete and unredacted copies of communication with any of the terminated USAttys; complete and unredacted copies of correspondence with the White House with regard to handling responses to Congress and/or the media about these issues.
In the letter, Rep. Conyers specifically requests not just paper documents, but electronic data (e-mails, files, etc.) including electronic metadata such as headers, directional information, and other such useful tracking data. (Which says to me: "Don't try to erase your trail, we're on to something here.") April 16th is the day before Alberto Gonzales' testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Something tells me it's going to be a bumpy few days between now and then.
Be on the lookout for people in the media pretending there's something weird about it.
- But the agenda was different during the Clinton administration. The government reform panel alone, for example, issued 1,052 subpoenas related to investigations of the Clinton administration and the Democratic National Committee from 1997 to 2002, and only 11 subpoenas related to allegations of Republican abuse.
