Welcome to Gonzales Watch - Blawging the Ex-Attorney General

When the House Committee on the Judiciary served Attorney General Alberto Gonzales with a subpoena yesterday, it was not breaking new ground.

According to the Washington Post,  Clinton Attorney General Janet Reno was served with a subpoena by a Republican-led House Committee “for refusing to turn over internal Justice Department memos.”

Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus says that White House Counsel Fred Fielding (inset) has been busy speaking with senior Republican Senate Judiciary Member Arlen Specter over the possibility of Congress interviewing White House staff in the U.S. Attorney firings debacle.

According to Marcus:

“Fielding has talked with the committee’s ranking Republican, Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.), and the senator’s counsel, Mike O’Neill. According to Specter, Fielding says the White House is interested in reaching an accommodation along the lines suggested by Specter — unsworn private testimony with a transcript as a first step — but worries about whether the House will agree.”

While Fielding has been laying low and apparently working quietly on the matter, yesterday’s House subpoena of Gonzales ups the pressure on the White House Counsel. He and his clients — including Karl Rove, Pres. Bush’s Chief of Staff — do not appear to be in a strong negotiating position, regardless of what legal defenses they may claim vis-a-vie Executive Privilege.