A US Senate panel investigating the collapse of Enron was expected to issue the first congressional subpoena of the Bush White House today, despite a last-minute White House plea to hold off.
The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, headed by Senator Joseph Lieberman, a potential 2004 presidential challenger to President Bush, was set to vote on the subpoena for Enron-related information at a meeting this morning.
Senate majority leader Mr Tom Daschle, predicted that all members of the panel's Democratic majority would support a subpoena and said he hoped some Republicans also would.
The subpoena would force the White House to hand over documents detailing administration contacts with now-bankrupt energy firm Enron. Mr Lieberman says the panel needs the documents to determine the government's role in the chain of events that led to the company's collapse.
A White House official said if the subpoena were issued it would be a first for the Bush White House.
The General Accounting Office sued the White House in February seeking to learn about energy industry meetings with the energy policy task force headed by Vice President Dick Cheney.
The administration has moved to dismiss the suit, arguing that Comptroller General David Walker, who heads the GAO, had exceeded his authority.
The administration advanced several arguments it said required the suit to be dismissed, including its claim that Mr Walker lacks standing to file the suit and that Mr Cheney cannot be sued in this case because he is not the head of an agency.