The time to put up has arrived

Sen. Patrick Leahy’s (D-Vt.) patience is understandably at an end.  In his ruling issued today as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Leahy concludes that White House claims of executive privilege "are not legally valid to excuse current and former White House employees from appearing, testifying and producing documents related to [the U.S. Attorney firing] investigation."

Now the real test, will contempt citations come next?  Will the U.S. Marshals Service, a branch of the Dept. of Justice, execute a Senate contempt citation against the White House?  What will a federal judge do if a slew of contempt orders end up in district court?  An interesting 2003 CRS report by Louis Fisher, senior specialist in Separation of Powers, Government and Finance Division provides some historical insight.   Stay tuned for more as it develops…