Consequences for ignoring congressional subpoenas: None

Glenn Greenwald
Salon.com

Back in July of last year -- more than six months ago -- the Senate and House Judiciary Committees were investigating the U.S. attorneys scandal and, as part of that investigation, they issued subpoenas to current Bush Chief of Staff Josh Bolton and former White House counsel Harriet Miers, "compelling" them to appear before the Committee to answer questions. While some Bush officials testified but cited "executive privilege" as a grounds for refusing to answer specific questions, both Miers and Bolton simply refused to show up at all -- literally just ignored the subpoena as though it were an invitation.

In the wake of that brazen contempt for Congress, all sorts of melodramatic denunciations and bold threats issued from Democratic leaders in Congress:

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) called it "an outrageous abuse of executive privilege" and said: "The White House must stop stonewalling and start being accountable to Congress and the American people. No one, including the president, is above the law."

Sen. Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) said the administration is "hastening a constitutional crisis," and Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) said the position "makes a mockery of the ideal that no one is above the law."

Wow; those are tough words: "hastening a constitutional crisis." "The White House must stop stonewalling." "No one, including the president, is above the law."

(Continued here.)