Bush: Congress can question aides - but not in public

US President George Bush and congressional Democrats could face a constitutional showdown over whether top White House aides will testify under oath about the firing of federal prosecutors.

“It will be regrettable if they choose to head down the partisan road of issuing subpoenas and demanding show trials,” Bush said, warning Democrats to accept his offer to allow political director Karl Rove and other top aides to speak to Congress – but not on the record, under oath or in public.

Refuse, Mr Bush said, and risk a showdown from which he would not back off.

Democrats rejected the offer and announced they would start authorising subpoenas within 24 hours.

“Testimony should be on the record and under oath. That’s the formula for true accountability,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

If neither side blinks, the dispute could end in a federal courtroom – a politically messy development that would only prolong what Bush called the “public spectacle” of the Justice Department’s firings of the eight US attorneys.

“It is more important to get the information promptly than to have months or years of litigation,” said Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the ranking Republican on Leahy’s panel.

But with the terms of a compromise far from clear, Mr Bush pivoted to the uncertain future of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Mr Bush began the day with an early morning telephone call to his long-time friend and ended it with a defiant statement of support.

Congressional Democrats and four Republicans have called on him to step down, Mr Bush was told. “He’s got support with me,” Bush said. “I support the attorney general.”