Opponents to San Diego cross subpoena members of Congress

Opponents to San Diego cross subpoena members of Congress

Opponents of a 29-foot-tall cross that stands on public parkland in San Diego have subpoenaed three local members of Congress who supported federal legislation designed to shield the monument from legal challenges.

The subpoenas were served on GOP Reps. Darrell Issa, Brian Bilbray and Duncan Hunter last month in connection with a lawsuit over the cross filed by the Jewish War Veterans and individual Jewish and Muslim plaintiffs. Issa and Hunter were subpoenaed for documents. Bilbray was subpoenaed for testimony.

The lawsuit against the Defense Department and the city of San Diego contends that the cross, dedicated in 1954 in honor of Korean War soldiers, excludes veterans who are not Christian.

The plaintiffs, represented by attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union, sued last August shortly after President Bush signed the legislation transferring the cross and a war memorial of which it is a part to the federal government.

The subpoenas were made public this week in the Congressional Record. They seek the lawmakers' communications with the executive branch and public interest groups about the cross, and other documents.

The House counsel's office is reviewing the subpoenas and negotiating with the plaintiffs' attorneys, officials said.

Issa's spokesman, Frederick Hill, called the subpoena a "nuisance subpoena" and said that Issa "has no intention of voluntarily assisting this attack on freedom of religion."

"The big point I'd want to make is this lawsuit is part of a meritless assault on a religious symbol," said Hill.

"The cross is on federal property, it violates the church-state separation issue, and therefore it's unconstitutional," Bob Zweiman, an official with the Jewish War Veterans group, said through a spokeswoman.

The subpoenas are the latest chapter in a legal fight that began in 1989, when Philip Paulson, an atheist and a Vietnam War veteran, sued the city of San Diego over the cross.

A series of court decisions deemed that the cross violated the California Constitution because it unfairly favored a single religion. San Diego voters approved a measure to preserve the cross by donating it to the federal government, but a judge declared that measure unconstitutional.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in to block an order that the city take down the cross, and in August Bush signed the legislation transferring the memorial to the federal government.