WASHINGTON - Republicans lined up yesterday to defeat an attempt by Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats to subpoena Justice Department memos on the use of torture in the interrogations of suspected terrorists.
But Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, a Utah Republican and chairman of the committee, along with fellow party members, said the Bush administration must be more forthcoming on policies that could have contributed to the abuse of prisoners in Iraq. Hatch said he had talked to White House counsel Alberto Gonzalez earlier in the day and been promised cooperation.
The subpoena attempt grew out of a hearing last week at which Attorney General John Ashcroft refused to give the committee copies of department memos on laws against torture that Democrats said could have laid the groundwork for the abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and elsewhere in the war on terrorism.
Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, of Vermont, the top Democrat on the panel and sponsor of the subpoena, applauded President Bush's pledge to get to the bottom of the abuse scandal, but said, "You can't get to the bottom when the top stonewalls."
Democrats were critical of Ashcroft, a former Senate colleague. Sen Dianne Feinstein of California said that Ashcroft, in his testimony, "essentially thumbed his nose at us."
Feinstein offered to change the subpoena language to give Ashcroft until June 24 to provide about two dozen documents or give reasons why they should not be released, before the subpoena would go into effect. But the subpoena proposal was defeated on a party-line vote, 10-9.
One of the memos being sought, cited in a March 2003 Pentagon policy paper, stated that the president's broad wartime national security authority could override anti-torture laws, including the Geneva Conventions, in certain circumstances.
In an angry exchange, Hatch said Democrats were trying to "score cheap political points."
He said the subpoena was too broad and that the White House would refuse to comply, resulting in drawn-out litigation.
Hatch said he also had had discussions with Ashcroft, who had asserted that he didn't have the authority to release the documents but would talk to the White House about providing them to the committee.
Democrats argued that without subpoena authority the Bush administration would not voluntarily turn over incriminating or embarrassing documents.
"Hiding these documents from view is the brazen sign of a cover-up, not of cooperation," Leahy said.
But Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and member of the Armed Services Committee, said he had talked Wednesday to Pentagon general counsel William Haynes, recipient of several of the memos on al-Qaida and Taliban detainees, and been told the Defense Department would supply the Armed Services panel with several of the sought-after memos.
Still, several Republicans left open the possibility of subpoenas at a later date if the administration does not voluntarily come forth with the memos. Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania said he agreed with Democrats that "no one has been as unartful as Attorney General Ashcroft" in denying documents to the committee.
He said that while he was voting against the Leahy proposal, he was "prepared to bite the bullet nonetheless [and support a subpoena] if we don't get a fair disclosure."
But Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, a Utah Republican and chairman of the committee, along with fellow party members, said the Bush administration must be more forthcoming on policies that could have contributed to the abuse of prisoners in Iraq. Hatch said he had talked to White House counsel Alberto Gonzalez earlier in the day and been promised cooperation.
Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, of Vermont, the top Democrat on the panel and sponsor of the subpoena, applauded President Bush's pledge to get to the bottom of the abuse scandal, but said, "You can't get to the bottom when the top stonewalls."
Democrats were critical of Ashcroft, a former Senate colleague. Sen Dianne Feinstein of California said that Ashcroft, in his testimony, "essentially thumbed his nose at us."
Feinstein offered to change the subpoena language to give Ashcroft until June 24 to provide about two dozen documents or give reasons why they should not be released, before the subpoena would go into effect. But the subpoena proposal was defeated on a party-line vote, 10-9.
One of the memos being sought, cited in a March 2003 Pentagon policy paper, stated that the president's broad wartime national security authority could override anti-torture laws, including the Geneva Conventions, in certain circumstances.
In an angry exchange, Hatch said Democrats were trying to "score cheap political points."
He said the subpoena was too broad and that the White House would refuse to comply, resulting in drawn-out litigation.
Hatch said he also had had discussions with Ashcroft, who had asserted that he didn't have the authority to release the documents but would talk to the White House about providing them to the committee.
Democrats argued that without subpoena authority the Bush administration would not voluntarily turn over incriminating or embarrassing documents.
"Hiding these documents from view is the brazen sign of a cover-up, not of cooperation," Leahy said.
But Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and member of the Armed Services Committee, said he had talked Wednesday to Pentagon general counsel William Haynes, recipient of several of the memos on al-Qaida and Taliban detainees, and been told the Defense Department would supply the Armed Services panel with several of the sought-after memos.
Still, several Republicans left open the possibility of subpoenas at a later date if the administration does not voluntarily come forth with the memos. Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania said he agreed with Democrats that "no one has been as unartful as Attorney General Ashcroft" in denying documents to the committee.
He said that while he was voting against the Leahy proposal, he was "prepared to bite the bullet nonetheless [and support a subpoena] if we don't get a fair disclosure."
