I’d Love to See Conyers and Pelosi in a Spat

That may not be a mature sentiment, wanting to see Conyers and Pelosi in a spat. But after reading that Pelosi knee-capped Conyers on his subpoena of Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten, I have marginal hopes that this will piss off Conyers and escalate things in HJC, rather than bury them as Pelosi seems content to do.

House Democratic leaders have decided to postpone a vote on a criminalcontempt resolution against White House chief of staff Joshua Boltenand former White House counsel Harriet Miers for several weeks, andpossibly longer, according to top lawmakers and aides.

[snip]

But the slowdown, approved by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) andher top lieutenants, is also stirring objections among Democrats.House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) saidhe is uncomfortable with the delay and worries the House will be seenas toothless unless it moves quickly to hold top officials in contemptfor failing to provide documents and testimony in congressional probes.

[snip]

Conyers said it was critical for Congress to enforce its subpoenasagainst executive branch officials, including senior White House aides.

“Otherwise, we just become a [social] club,” Conyers said, adding that he would be reviewing the issue with Pelosi soon.

You see, after a long history of noting the importance of impeaching George Bush, John Conyers quickly adopted the Pelosi party line when he assumed leadership of the House Judiciary Committee this year. Progress on the US Attorney investigation in HJC has been inexorable, perhaps too slow for my taste, but largely palatable to the jellyfishes in charge of Democratic strategy in DC.

John Conyers has the ability to change that, if he has the will and energy to do so. One way to do so immediately–and to ratchet up pressure on Pelosi and to garner a huge amount of press–would be to formally move into an impeachment investigation, something Conyers has the ability to do without the approval of Pelosi.