The AP reports:

A defiant President Bush warned Democrats Tuesday to accept his offer to have top aides speak about the firings of federal prosecutors only privately and not under oath, or risk a constitutional showdown from which he would not back down.

Democrats' response was swift and firm: They said they would start authorizing subpoenas as soon as Wednesday for the White House aides.

"Testimony should be on the record and under oath. That's the formula for true accountability," said Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record), D-Vt., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Bush, in a late-afternoon statement at the White House, said he would fight any subpoena effort in court.

Wow, things are going to get ugly. Don't get me wrong the Bushies need to be accountable, but I do get the feeling that maybe Democrats are pursuing this scandal so vigorously because they aren't doing well in the Iraq debate right now.