WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal appeals court has blocked former White House counsel Harriet Miers from testifying about the firing of nine U.S. attorneys until judges decide whether they have authority to wade into a battle that pits Congress against the Bush administration.
Miers is supposed to testify at a House Judiciary Committee hearing next Thursday.
In its ruling Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said it wants to review arguments from both sides over whether its judges have jurisdiction to rule in the case.
The three-judge panel gave House lawyers until 4 p.m. next Wednesday to make its case on why the court should uphold an earlier ruling forcing Miers to testify. The Justice Department must submit its own argument — why she should not — two days earlier, on Monday.
The House committee wants Miers to testify and White House chief of staff Josh Bolten to turn over documents related to the 2006 prosecutor firings, which Democrats contend were politically motivated.
The Justice Department says Congress can't force top White House aides to testify because it infringes on the executive branch's independence.
In July, U.S. District Judge John Bates strongly rejected the government's argument and ordered Miers and Bolten to comply with the House demands.
The appeals court panel's ruling temporarily blocks that order. However, the delay "should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits of that motion," wrote the panel of judges, two of whom were appointed by Republicans. |