Common Cause strongly supports the passage of H. Res. 982 providing for the adoption of H. Res. 979 finding Harriet Miers and Joshua Bolten in contempt of Congress and urges a yes vote. This is not a partisan issue. This is an issue of the U.S. House exercising its constitutionally mandated duty to perform Congressional oversight of the Executive Branch. This is about preserving three co-equal branches of government upon which the Constitution is founded.

The public interest is not better served by the protection of executive confidentiality, in this case, as it is by the affirmation of the legislative branch’s constitutional powers of oversight and investigation.

Putting aside the wealth of credible evidence suggesting there were violations of federal law in the firings of several U.S. Attorneys, Congress should cite Bolton and Miers with contempt of Congress based solely on the need to protect the investigative powers it has been granted by the Constitution. Furthermore, allowing Bolton and Miers to ignore Congressional subpoenas based on a general claim of executive privilege would set a precedent that would significantly lower the bar for executive refusal to cooperate with Congressional investigations in the future.