The House Judiciary Committee has just confirmed that former White House counsel Harriet Miers will appear before the committee as scheduled on Thursday.
In a letter sent to the committee Monday, Miers' lawyer, George T. Manning, said,
"Ms. Miers is, of course, respectful of her obligations to respond appropriately to the subpoenas issued and served upon her. In these circumstances, however, as I am sure you know, Ms. Miers has no choice other than to comply with direction given her by Counsel to the President ... Accordingly, and with all due respect, I must inform you that in light of the President's assertion of Executive Privilege, Ms. Miers cannot provide the documents and testimony that the Committee seeks."
In a response sent today, committee chairman Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., and Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., said they were writing "to confirm, as you told committee counsel yesterday, that your client Ms. Harriet Miers will appear to testify ... I understand from your letter yesterday that Ms. Miers may decline to produce documents or answer certain questions ... those claims will be considered at the hearing, but it is of course incumbent on Ms. Miers to appear."
On Monday, a spokesperson for the Senate Judiciary told Salon that the committee has heard from the lawyer for Sara Taylor, the former White House political director, and that Taylor will appear before that committee as scheduled tomorrow. Salon has still not been able to confirm that with Taylor's lawyer, W. Neil Eggleston, who did not respond to messages seeking comment.
Separately, Conyers and Sanchez also announced plans to hold a vote after Miers' appearance Thursday on whether to issue subpoenas against the Republican National Committee, because the RNC "has failed to agree to voluntarily turn over all the emails relevant to the investigation" of the U.S. attorneys scandal, from which this latest fight between the executive and legislative branches stems.
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