House panel to subpoena Cheney aide

WASHINGTON, May 7 (UPI) -- A U.S. House of Representatives panel voted to subpoena an aide to Vice President Dick Cheney in an investigation of treatment of suspected terrorists.

A subpoena could be issued as early as Wednesday for Cheney's chief of staff, David Addington, who indicated he might, if required, testify under oath about policies for interrogating detainees, The Washington Post reported.

By a voice vote, initiated by Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., chairman of a House Judiciary subcommittee, Democratic lawmakers called on Addington to testify about his role in drafting documents supporting controversial interrogation measures that civil liberty groups compare to torture.

Cheney has sought to limit the scope of Addington's testimony; committee sources told the Post the breadth of questioning was being negotiated. As one-time legal counsel to Cheney, Addington played a key role in developing anti-terrorism strategies after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

In a related development, House Judiciary staff members said they were scheduling voluntary testimony from former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and John C. Yoo, once a deputy in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel.