News Watch: “Bush Orders Miers Not to Testify”
The controversy over the firing of eight prosecutors continues with Bush’s announcement today that two former members of his administration will not testify before Congress. According to ABC News, “President Bush ordered former counsel Harriet Miers to defy a congressional summons….” The article adds that “[c]ontempt citations against both women were a possibility.”
It is intriguing, to say the least, that the administration is going to such lengths to obstruct the investigation into these firings. It’s also interesting to investigate the way in which this news is presented.
It’s no secret that ABC News leans to the left. Left-wing crazies would argue that it’s perfectly fair and objective (if not a wee bit conservative), whereas right-wing crazies tend to lump ABC in with CNN and CBS as part of the vast left-wing conspiracy. Regardless, the ABC article definitely disparages the administration’s move. The easiest way to understand how it does so is to read this article on the same subject from Fox News. Not only is the ABC article significantly lengthier and more detailed, but it also focuses more on the possibility of Meirs facing contempt charges. Fox, on the other hand, opens with the quotation regarding Meirs’ protection from subpoena and gives only a few words to the possible contempt charges. This then indicates a more sympathetic view of Bush’s announcement today.
However, I believe both articles raise the same question: why is Bush trying to suppress this testimony? According to both articles, Sarah Taylor (former White House political director) defended the president and claimed that he had no role in the firings. It is unclear why Bush would suppress positive testimony about him; he has enough bad press these days as it is.
It will be interesting to see how this turns out; it will be even more interesting to see how the media handles this controversy.
Article Source: ABC News: Bush Orders Miers Not to Testify
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