The Bush administration has lodged what is being described as an unprecedented assertion of White House authority in its effort to fight scrutiny of the firing of U.S. attorneys. The Washington Post reports the White House is insisting the Justice Department will never be allowed to pursue congressional contempt charges once the president invokes executive privilege. Democrats are preparing contempt proceedings against current and former administration officials over the White House’s refusal to release documents and allow testimony. Federal law requires contempt citations to go through the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. But the White House says Congress has no authority to force a U.S. attorney to pursue the charges if the president decides executive privilege covers testimony or documents. A senior administration official said the White House stance would make any congressional contempt citations “a futile and purely political act.” In response, House Oversight Chair Henry Waxman said, “[This] makes a mockery of the ideal that no one is above the law. … I suppose the next step would be just disbanding the Justice Department.”