Bush refuses to supply subpoenaed documents on controversial firings

US PRESIDENT George W Bush, moving toward a constitutional showdown with Congress, asserted executive privilege yesterday and rejected lawmakers’ demands for documents that could shed light on the firings of federal prosecutors.

Bush’s attorney told Congress the White House would not turn over subpoenaed documents for former presidential counsel Harriet Miers and former political director Sara Taylor. Congressional panels want the documents for their investigations of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ stewardship of the Justice Department.

The Democratic chairmen of the two committees seeking the documents accused Bush of disdain for the law, and said they would press forward with enforcing the subpoenas.

‘‘It is with much regret that we are forced down this unfortunate path which we sought to avoid by finding grounds for mutual accommodation,’’ White House counsel Fred Fielding said in a letter to the chairmen of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees.

Yesterday was the deadline for surrendering the documents. The White House also made clear that Miers and Taylor would not testify next month, as directed by the subpoenas, which were issued on June 13. The stalemate could end up with House and Senate contempt citations and a battle in federal court over separation of powers.

Tensions between the administration and the Democratic-run Congress have been building for months as the House and Senate Judiciary panels have sought to probe the firings of eight federal prosecutors and the administration’s program of warrantless eavesdropping. The investigations are part of the Democrats’ efforts to hold the administration to account for the way it has conducted the war on terrorism since the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Democrats say the firings of the prosecutors over the winter was an example of improper political influence. The White House says US attorneys are political appointees who can be fired for almost any reason.