Court says Bush aides can be subpoenaed

WASHINGTON, July 31 (UPI) -- Top aides to U.S. President George Bush can be subpoenaed to testify before a congressional committee, a federal court in Washington ruled Thursday.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected White House arguments that former presidential counsel Harriet Miers and current Chief of Staff Josh Bolten have absolute immunity from testifying before Congress. The House Judiciary Committee filed suit after the two, citing executive privilege, refused to testify in the committee's investigation into the firings of nine U.S. attorneys in 2006.

Regarding Miers's claim of absolute immunity, the court wrote, "The (executive branch's) current claim of absolute immunity from compelled congressional process for senior presidential aides is without any support in the case law," Judge John D. Bates wrote for the court.

The court said it did not address specific claims of executive privilege that Miers and Bolten may assert. "Nor should this decision discourage the process of negotiation and accommodation that most often leads to resolution of disputes between the political branches," the opinion said.

The court stopped short of requiring Bolten to produce a privilege log requested by the committee.

"Instead, the (administration) should produce a more detailed list and description of the nature and scope of the documents it seeks to withhold on the basis of executive privilege sufficient to enable resolution of any privilege claims," the court wrote.