Bush Directs Aides to Defy Subpoenas

In an aggressive use of executive privilege, President Bush instructed two of his former aides yesterday to disregard congressional subpoenas demanding they testify about the attorney firings scandal. In a letter to Congress, Bush's counsel rebuffed Democratic senators for encroaching on internal White House affairs, bringing the two branches closer to an possible Supreme Court showdown.

Bush’s attempt to keep former White House counsel Harriet Miers and political director Sara Taylor from testifying "goes way beyond the proper scope of executive privilege," one political scientist tells the Washington Post. If they can’t come to an agreement, Congress will likely slap Bush with contempt, leaving the matter up to the federal courts. (More US attorneys scandal stories.)