House panel files historic lawsuit to enforce subpoenas

The House Judiciary Committee filed a lawsuit Monday to enforce subpoenas against President Bush's chief of staff and his former counsel in a probe of suspected White House involvement in the 2006 firings of nine federal prosecutors, including Seattle's John McKay.

The panel filed the federal court suit against Joshua Bolten, White House chief of staff since April 2006, and Harriet Miers, who resigned as White House counsel in January 2007.

The committee's action marked the first time in U.S. history that either chamber of Congress has sued the executive branch to enforce a subpoena, according to a spokesman for the House Judiciary Committee.