This just in: (Oh Boy it's getting Watergate-y!)

Bush denies Congress access to key aides

By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer 12 minutes ago

President Bush invoked executive privilege Monday to deny requests by Congress for testimony from former White House aides Sara Taylor and Harriet Miers.

It offered once more to make the pair available for private, off-the-record interviews on any role the White House might have played in the firings of several U.S. attorneys.

In a letter to the heads of the House and Senate Judiciary panels, White House counsel Fred Fielding insisted that Bush was acting in good faith and refused lawmakers' demand that the president explain the basis for invoking the privilege.

This is a breaking news update. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressmen returning from their Independence Day break are ready for battle with the White House, with Democrats decrying President Bush's commutation of former aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's prison sentence and fighting Bush's latest claim of executive privilege.

Both events occurred around Congress' vacation, inflaming an intense battle between Democrats and Bush over his use of executive power. There was relatively high tension on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue as majority Democrats — and increasing numbers of Republicans — challenged Bush's Iraq war policy.

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, said Monday there had been "a steady erosion for the president's policy" in Congress because of the "tremendous loss of life among our troops" in June and "the failure of the Iraqi government to pursue the political reforms that are necessary to quell the sectarian violence."

Meanwhile, several Democratic-run investigations are playing out this week as they head toward contempt of Congress citations and, if neither side yields, federal court:...[Open in new window]