On subpoena power

Democrats are at the waters edge of issuing their first subpoenas since taking power this winter and my guess is they'll actually move forward.

New York Times:

“Trust me,” said Representative John Conyers Jr., the Michigan Democrat who is chairman of the Judiciary Committee. “We are not going to move in a reckless or angry or temperamental way at all.”

...

Senator Patrick J. Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who is the chairman of the panel, said Wednesday evening that he expected to win the authority to force the testimony. “Every day there are thousands of good, loyal Americans who stand in courtrooms, raise their right hand and swear to tell to truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth and are proud to do it,” Mr. Leahy said. “It is amazing that thousands of ordinary Americans can do it, but they are kind of special and they don’t have to.” Some Congressional Republicans said privately that the administration’s proposal might be a tough sell because many Americans would question why the officials were unwilling to talk under oath — a position the administration attributes to a desire to not set a precedent.

A couple things here. I think it's both wrong and a big mistake for Democrats to walk so softly. There are dozens of respected voices echoing Leahy and they're all undergirded by the words of the U.S. Attorneys themselves (the ones who were, you know, canned) who want to know why their careers were interfered with. They and the Democrats have the better of this fight.

But additionally, it's frustrating to realize that the only time Congress will even toy with the idea of using their (Constitutionally mandated) oversight powers is when the administration is completely punchdrunk.
There are a handful of other investigative arenas that are at least as subpoena-worthy (torture and the second Bybee memo leap to mind) as the U.S. Attorney case is. The point of issuing a subpoena is to be able to conduct a complete investigation, when that investigation is being obstructed and it would behoove Leahy, Conyers, and the rest to accept that that's what's happening and expose the people who have lied to them.

Torture, for instance, may poll disgracefully well with the public. But shady obstructionism and unaccountability do not.