This evening Attorney General Michael Mukasey, as expected, refused to prosecute the contempt of Congress resolutions against White House officials Josh Bolten and Harriet Miers for their refusal to testify in the U.S. attorneys scandal.

The House had referred the contempt citations to the Department of Justice only yesterday.

In response to Mukasey’s refusal, Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised to pursue a civil lawsuit to enforce the congressional subpoenas. House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers issued a statement saying:

[T]odayâs decision to shelve the contempt process, in violation of a federal statute, shows that the White House will go to any lengths to keep its role in the US Attorney firings hidden. In the face of such extraordinary actions, we have no choice but to proceed with a lawsuit to enforce the Committee’s subpoenas.â

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