Or, more properly, I should say "Waxman Provides Precedent for Subpoenas," which is the title of the article in TruthOut, which can be found here.
Hey, we all know there are precedents aplenty, but it's nice to have it down in black and white, including particular mention of Republican subpoenas of people in the exact same position in Clinton's administration as some of those being subpoenaed in Bush's administration. My, how things change when the shoe is on the other foot. I do wish they'd pointed out precedents from other administrations as well, but this is a good in-your-face start.
In part, the TruthOut article says:
White House Spokesman Tony Snow told reporters that the demand for sworn testimony from presidential advisers is "unprecedented" and "highly unusual in any White House."
However, in his letter, Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) described this statement as "misinformed." The letter outlines notable subpoenas of Clinton administration officials, and summarizes a report compiled by Waxman and his staff which details the extensive investigation of the Clinton White House by a then Republican-controlled Congress. According to the report, from 1997 to 2002, under Republican Chairman Dan Burton, the House Oversight Committee issued 1,052 subpoenas targeting Democratic Party or Clinton administration officials.
This letter also describes cooperation by subpoenaed Clinton administration officials serving in the same capacity as former White House council Harriet Miers and Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, two of the Bush administration officials currently in the Democrats' sights. According to the report, "141 individuals who worked in the Clinton administration, including top advisers to the president, spent 568 hours in deposition before the [Oversight] committee staff." This included three White House chiefs of staff and four counsels to the president, along with other top administration officials.
Waxman's letter, all formal and nicely footnoted, is here.
I consider the struggle that is just beginning between the White House and Congress to be very serious indeed, with grave implications for our future as a democracy if the "unitary executive" is not reined in. But at the same time, I have to say, some of this is going to be fun.