Bid to get Bush aides to testify is rejected

WASHINGTON - A federal appeals court yesterday rejected House Democrats' demands to force two of President Bush's top aides to cooperate with an investigation into the firings of nine federal prosecutors in 2006.

Time will run out on this year's congressional session before the intragovernmental battle can be resolved, according to the ruling by a three-judge panel on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The ruling essentially pushes any resolution on the politically charged case until next year.

"The present dispute is of potentially great significance for the balance of power between the legislative and executive branches," wrote the panel of judges, two of whom were appointed by Republicans.

Still, the judges wrote, "Even if expedited, this controversy will not be fully and finally resolved by the judicial branch . . . before the 110th Congress ends on January 3, 2009. At that time, the 110th House of Representatives will cease to exist as a legal entity, and the subpoenas it has issued will expire."

The ruling blocks a July order by US District Judge John Bates to force former White House counsel Harriet E. Miers to testify before the House Judiciary Committee and the president's chief of staff, Joshua Bolten, to turn over documents about the controversial firings.

Democrats say the firings, which led to the resignation of former attorney general Alberto Gonzales last year, were politically motivated.

In a statement, House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, Democrat of Michigan, indicated his committee would appeal, although he did not say whether it would do so after the start of the new congressional session in January.