Contempt a-coming

My tireless commenter thinks Leahy's gearing up to... get really frickin' upset and send the president yet more letters expressing his disappointment.

Some of the comments at TPM Muckraker are worth a read (and laugh or tear).

My favs: Leahy: "I'm through messing around. I'll give you five more warnings and then there's gonna be trouble. If you haven't responded to the fifth warning, oh, brother--I'll give you such a warning...!"

Funny, yes. But still, Leahy said he'd start contempt citation proceedings if he didn't get what he asked for and now Cheney's saying he won't give Leahy what he asked for.

In a letter sent to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the vice president's lawyer, Shannen W. Coffin, identified dozens of presidential authorizations of the program and Justice Department memos on its legal justifications in Cheney's possession. Coffin refused to hand over the documents, citing a president's right to keep deliberations with his advisers private.

"The Office of the Vice President possesses copies of documents ... that we understand to be of the most interest to the Committee and with respect to which a claim of Executive Privilege if made would clearly be valid."

I guess that puts Leahy in a pretty tight spot, doesn't it?