Waxman presses for more information in wake of court ruling

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., Tuesday asked the Justice Department, the Office of Management and Budget and the Environmental Protection Agency to describe the documents being withheld from the committee under White House executive privilege claims.

The request is based on a ruling last week by U.S. District Judge John Bates rejecting broad White House claims of executive privilege as unsupported by case law.

Bates said former White House Counsel Harriet Miers must comply with the House Judiciary Committee subpoena to appear at a hearing on the U.S. attorney firings under former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Bates also ruled subpoenaed documents withheld for reasons of executive privilege must be described by the White House to allow Congress to weigh the claim. Though the Justice Department is expected to appeal the court decision, House and Senate Judiciary committees are using the ruling to press demands for testimony and documents on the politicization of the Justice Department.

Waxman's letters, which involve subpoenaed documents on the outing of covert CIA official Valerie Plame Wilson and the White House's role in shaping environmental regulations, indicate Democrats may use last week's ruling as leverage in various disputes over access to executive branch information.