White House, Cheney's Office Are Subpoenaed

WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the White House and Vice President Cheney's office yesterday for documents relating to President Bush's eavesdropping program that operated warrant-free for five years.

Also named in subpoenas signed by the committee's chairman, Senator Leahy, a Democrat of Vermont, were the Justice Department and the National Security Council. The four parties have until July 18 to comply, according to a statement by Mr. Leahy's office.

The committee wants documents that might shed light on internal disputes within the administration over the legality of the program, which Mr. Bush put under court review earlier this year.

"Our attempts to obtain information through testimony of administration witnesses have been met with a consistent pattern of evasion and misdirection," Mr. Leahy said in his cover letters for the subpoenas. "There is no legitimate argument for withholding the requested materials from this committee."