Senate subpoenas Dick Cheney

Finally! We've been waiting a long time for this moment:

The Senate Judiciary Committee issued a series of subpoenas to the White House, Vice President Cheney’s office, and the Justice Department today related to the National Security Agency’s warrantless wiretapping program, setting the stage for a major legal showdown between Congress and the Bush Administration.

Senator Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who is chairman of the committee, said the subpoenas seek documents that could shed light on the legal basis used by the administration to justify the wiretapping program. In addition, the panel is seeking materials on the way the program operated, including the relationship between the agency and several unidentified telecommunications companies that aided the eavesdropping program.

This is Democratic oversight in action. We're not holding our breath waiting for the administration to comply, though. This could turn into a major Constitutional showdown.