Contempt vote delayed after executive privilege invoked

House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., blasted President Bush Friday for invoking executive privilege on documents relating to the White House's involvement in EPA ozone regulations.

"I don't think we've had a situation like this since Richard Nixon was president -- where the [president] may have been involved in acting contrary to law," Waxman said.

The committee was scheduled to vote on holding EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson and Susan Dudley, head of OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, in contempt for not issuing subpoenaed documents relating to a committee probe.

The panel is investigating the White House's decision to override Johnson's decisions involving stricter ozone standards.

The vote was postponed because the executive privilege claim would prevent the committee from obtaining the remaining documents it seeks. Waxman said he wanted to consult with committee members before deciding how to proceed.

In a letter to Waxman Friday, OMB Director James Nussle accused Waxman of a double standard, charging he was lenient during an investigation of possible White House political involvement in ozone standards during the Clinton administration. Nussle mentioned an April 18 letter sent from Waxman to Oversight and Government Reform ranking member Tom Davis, R-Va., that said the OIRA under Clinton withheld two documents, but had been "extraordinarily responsive" in that case because it had already turned over 3,800 pages of other material.

"It is curious that you are now unsatisfied to have received 'thousands of pages' of documents from OIRA in advance of your May 20 hearing," Nussle wrote. Nussle also criticized Waxman for not asking Dudley more pointed questions at a May 20 hearing.

In a letter to Bush, Attorney General Michael Mukasey cited case law to argue that the committee did not present a strong enough case that the subpoenaed documents are "demonstrably critical to the responsible fulfillment of the committee's functions." EPA Associate Administrator Christopher Bliley announced EPA would release 71 additional documents to the committee, including redacted copies related to White House communications.