According to The Hill newspaper, Virginia Republican Congressman Tom Davis today will be faced with the dilemma of choosing between a proper and thorough inquiry into the Federal Government's response to Hurricane Katrina, or appeasing the wishes of the Bush administration. Davis, who has been a loyal supporter of President Bush, chairs the House Select Committee heading the investigation. Democratic Congressman Charlie Melancon from Louisiana, also on the Committee, said he will offer motions today to subpoena documents from the White House seeking specific communications from the White House, the Defense Department and the governors of Mississippi and Alabama. The Hill reports that "Republicans will likely face significant pressure from the White House and Republican leaders to thwart the subpoena motions." It was these exact dilemmas that lead the Democratic Party to call the Committee a "sham" several months ago during its formation. Democrats had sought an independent inquiry into the Federal Government's response saying the Republican controlled Congress cannot be trusted to investigate the White House.So what does Davis do? First, apparently, he makes sure that everyone is on the same page and has their story straight:
"A House GOP aide said Davis was still negotiating with White House officials yesterday regarding the documents, which include communication from, to and between White House chief of staff Andy Card, his deputy Joe Hagin, Homeland Security Adviser Frances Townsend and her deputy Ken Rapuano between August 23 and September 15 of this year."
Negotiating? It seems fairly simple to me; the Committee either gets the documents or it doesn't. Anyway, now that everyone is on the same page, they'll probably discover that the documents are pretty revealing and damaging to the Republican White House. So on to plan B:
The aide went on to hint that Republicans may challenge Melancon?s ability to present the motions since Pelosi has not formally named him to the panel, as required by the legislation that established the select committee.
This is an old Karl Rove trick - when caught in a corner, attack the messenger and say they don't have the right to be asking such questions, never mind the legitimacy of them. So does this mean we can forget about Davis' promises to ?investigate thoroughly what went wrong and what went right?, ?do it by the book? and ?let the chips fall where they may?? Stay tuned.
A shorter version of this story is cross posted here on the Virginia Political Line.
Update: The AP is reporting that Davis has rejected the motion to subpoena. He has rejected the motion "for now", Davis said it was "premature" at least until the Committee was briefed by Administration officials later in the week. The documents were originally requested over two months ago. Another "Rovian" tactic, Delay, Delay, Delay (no pun intended).
http://www.hurstforcongress.com/
http://www.kenlongmyerforcongress.com
Raising Kaine had an interview w/ Hurst recently: