Conyers Demands Testimony from Karl Rove
April 17th, 2008House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, the Michigan Democrat, and Committee Members Linda Sánchez (D-CA), Artur Davis (D-AL), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) announced three critical actions today in the Committee’s investigation into allegations of selective or poltiically-motivated prosecution in the Justice Department.
The Members today invited Karl Rove to testify before the committee, urged the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General and Office of Professional Responsibility to investigate those allegations and demanded that Attorney General Michael Mukasey provide additional documents in the case.
Today’s actions result from the Committee’s majority staff report, also released today, which details the cases, interviews and documents they have reviewed since the Committee began its investigation last year.
“There continue to be numerous complaints of selective or politically motivated prosecution since our investigation began last year,” Conyers said. “The actions we are taking today, including calling Karl Rove to testify, are an effort to get to the bottom of this matter.”
Today’s announcement stems from the Committee’s 2007 oversight hearing on selective prosecution, during which testimony was heard and documents were entered into the record regarding cases from Alabama, Mississippi, Wisconsin, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. Since the hearing, majority committee staff has continued its investigation with interviews and document collection about additional cases across the country.
“While this report is extensive and significant progress has been made in our investigation, many facts remain unknown,” Conyers said. “The Justice Department has simply not been forthcoming and I feel the only way to move this investigation forward is to seek further independent investigation and testimony from Karl Rove, who appears to be the missing link in a chain from the White House to the Justice Department.”
More information is available on the House Judiciary Committee’s Website.
April 17th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Hi Glynn,
Please clear this up for me. Did Conyers DEMAND or INVITE Karl Rove to testify?
April 17th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
The press release says “invited,” although Rove has already defied a Congressional subpoena, which was a demand. This is basically calling Rove’s bluff. He said through his attorney the other day that he would testify, after calling Jill Simpson “a loon” in GQ magazine. We’ll see who the real loon turns out to be in the end…
April 18th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
My bet: after “consulting” with the White House, Rove will claim “executive priviledge” and refuse to show up. Doesn’t Congress have the power to cite no-shows, when they’re supoenaed, for contempt? Maybe putting a few folks like Rove in jail for awhile would send a clear message that everyone has to abide by the same laws. That’s a message that needs to be sent.