When witnesses under subpoena refuse even to appear before a congressional committee and when executive privilege is asserted despite compelling legal arguments to the contrary, Congress must act to preserve its constitutional powers.
Yesterday's New York Times Editorial board stated the case very clearly when they wrote, "If Congress fails to enforce its own subpoenas, it would effectively be ceding its subpoena power. It would also be giving its tacit consent to the dangerous idea of an imperial president -- above the law and beyond the reach of checks and balances. The founders did not want that when they wrote the Constitution, and the voters who elected this Congress do not want it today."
For far too long, certain high-level staff at the White House have blatantly ignored the law and refused to comply with the Judiciary Committee subpoenas. These same individuals have been given ample opportunity in which to cooperate with this legally binding process. And, frankly, the justifications for their refusal to testify before Congress are few and fleeting.
