Bush says Gonzales stays and offers the Dems a deal to allow Meiers and Rove to speak, not testify, but speak to Congress

You have to live inside a bubble not to know what is happening today. Bush, just now on TV, said that Alberto Gonzales will stay and that the Dems are on a fishing expidition re the eight State Attorneys fired recently.

The White House made an offer to allow Miers and Rove to talk to the Senate and the House, and here's the Big BUT, not under oath and behind closed doors and no transcripts! Are they afraid of taking an oath? Seems to me if all is above board then Miers and Rove would agree to an oath.

Here's Bush's testy, arrogant press briefing from the AP:

Bush warns Dems to take offer in firings
By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer
3 minutes ago

President Bush warned Democrats Tuesday to accept his offer to have top aides testify about the firings of federal prosecutors only privately and not under oath, or risk a constitutional showdown from which he would not back down.

Democrats' response to his proposal was swift and firm. "Testimony should be on the record and under oath. That's the formula for true accountability," said Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Bush, in a late-afternoon statement at the White House, said, "We will not go along with a partisan fishing expedition aimed at honorable public servants. ... I proposed a reasonable way to avoid an impasse."

He added: "There's no indication ... that anybody did anything improper."

Bush gave his embattled attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, a boost during an early morning call to his longtime friend and ended the day with a public statement repeating it. "He's got support with me," the president said.

The Senate, meanwhile, voted to strip Gonzales of his authority to fill U.S. attorney vacancies without Senate confirmation. Democrats contend the Justice Department and White House purged eight federal prosecutors, some of whom were leading political corruption investigations, after a change in the Patriot Act gave Gonzales the new authority. (the vote was 94-2)

Several Democrats, including presidential hopefuls Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barrack Obama, Joe Biden and John Edwards, have called for Gonzales' ouster or resignation. So have a handful of Republican lawmakers.

And here's the Deal the Dems were offered from the White House:

White House Won’t Allow Rove, Miers To Testify »
MSNBC’s Mike Viquiera: “Fred Fielding, he’s the White House counsel, he was just here meeting with the House Judiciary Committee. He made the following offer to the Congress, both House and Senate. He said Rove and Harriet Miers would be offered to the committees for their testimony in the Alberto Gonzales prosecutors scandal. However, it would be unsworn testimony, not under oath, behind closed doors, and no transcript would be permitted. Now, that is not what Congress is looking for.”

UPDATE: During a press conference, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) also revealed that the White House is restricting the types of documents that it is willing to release voluntarily. Schumer said the White House is willing to turn over emails between the White House and the Justice Department, and between the White House and third parties, but not intra-White House emails. Schumer explained the problem:

So, if Karl Rove sent a communication to Harriet Miers and said, and this is purely hypothetical, “We have to get rid of US Attorney Lam. Come up with a good reason…” and the only communication we get is the good reason that Harriet Miers sent to the Justice Department.

This from Think Progress

This issue is heating up and now that several Republicans are voting against Bush, it doesn't look good for this administration. Have the Republicans had enough or is it that they are no longer afraid of the Bush admin, or is it this next election coming up?