Rice signals rejection of House subpoena, citing executive privilege

By The Associated Press

OSLO, Norway — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday she has already answered the questions she has been subpoenaed to answer before a congressional committee and suggested she is not inclined to comply with the order.

By The Associated Press U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice addresses the media ahead of NATO's foreign ministers meeting in Oslo, Norway, Thursday.

Rice said she would respond by mail to questions from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on the Bush administration's prewar claims about Saddam Hussein seeking uranium from Africa, but signaled she would not appear in person.

Rice spoke from Oslo, where she is attending a meeting of NATO foreign ministers. The comments were her first reaction to a subpoena issued on Wednesday by the committee chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif.

Rice noted that she had been serving as President Bush's national security adviser during the period covered by the panel's questions and stressed the administration's position that presidential aides not confirmed by the Senate cannot be forced to testify before Congress under the doctrine of executive privilege.

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