According to the AP, President Bush made a statement a few minutes ago in which he apparently threatened a constitutional showdown if Congress turned down his offer to have top aides testify about the U.S. Attorney firings only in private and not under oath. I gather this means that if Congress subpoenaed White House officials, the White House would assert executive privilege and force a lawsuit over whether the subpoena could be enforced.

  I wonder, though, wouldn't Congress be simply delighted to have this become a constitutional showdown? It would keep the issue in the headlines for weeks, and litigation would be likely to narrow the scope of executive privilege rather than expand it. Given that, this seems like a weird warning to make (assuming that the AP is reporting the warning accurately).