http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/23/house-committee-may-subpoena-ashcroft/Both former attorney general John Ashcroft and New Jersey U.S. attorney Chris Christie have refused to testify before the House Judiciary subcommittee about a lucrative federal monitoring contact Christie awarded Ashcroft. Yesterday, however, the committee revealed that it has scheduled a hearing on Feb. 26 to vote on a motion to subpoena Ashcroft
Panel Considers Subpoenaing Ashcroft in Deal
The House Judiciary Committee disclosed Friday that it was considering subpoenaing former Attorney General John Ashcroft to testify about a contract worth at least $28 million that was steered to his consulting firm by the Justice Department.
The committee scheduled a vote next week on a motion authorizing the panel’s chairman, Representative John Conyers Jr., Democrat of Michigan, to subpoena Mr. Ashcroft.
Mr. Ashcroft had been invited to appear at a hearing the committee had scheduled for next Tuesday, but that hearing was called off without explanation.
Democratic lawmakers are investigating the circumstances of the no-bid, 18-month monitoring contract, worth $28 million to $52 million, that was awarded to Mr. Ashcroft’s consulting firm to oversee a settlement between the Justice Department and Zimmer Holdings, a large medical supply company in Indiana. The settlement resolved criminal charges that had been brought by the United States attorney in New Jersey, Christopher J. Christie.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/23/washington/23monitor.html