Unsurprisingly, some are upset that Leahy has responded to the Bush administration’s snubbing of his deadline for turning over documents by … extending the deadline. And sure it makes him look toothless right now, but there’s a good reason for extending the deadline until after recess.
If Leahy starts handing out subpoenas right before August recess, he’s giving the White House a month to let the whole scandal drop off the headlines and then when Congress comes back into session the story is effectively buried. But if he gets on this right after Congress goes back in session, he’ll have all the press coverage he needs.
So the real question is, why was the deadline right before a recess anyway?
