by Glynn Wilson

Update: Scratch that. The hearing has been postponed due to the seventh anniversary of 9/11 and the memorial dedication.

The United States House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing of the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law Thursday at noon in the “continuing investigation into the U.S. attorneys controversy and related matters,” according to the committee’s Website.

According to the TPMMuckraker, the committee will consider a citation for contempt for Bush’s Attorney General Michael Mukasey Wednesday “for his failure to supply documents in accordance with the subpoena” issued in late June.

At the Democratic National Convention a couple of weeks ago, former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman pleaded with Colorado’s congressional delegation to vote to hold Karl Rove in contempt of Congress before it adjourns for the year, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly said she would work to bring the issue up for a vote in the full House.

But informed sources who have watched this Congress in action for the past two years since the Democrats took back control as the majority in the 2006 midterm elections are not sure there is the will or the votes in an election year to uphold the law.

Chances are the Democratic leadership will poll members of Congress and find out they do not have enough votes to sustain a vote of contempt for Rove, and they will make an announcement to that effect. Alternatively, if they see political capital to be gained from forcing a vote of the full House, they may bring the issue to a vote, even if it seems destined to lose, just so that members of Congress who are sworn to uphold the law will be on the record voting not to uphold the law.

The committee voted 20-14 to hold Rove in contempt on July 30, for failing to respond to a subpoena to testify under oath before the committee. He has been accused of manipulating the Bush Justice Department for political purposes, including having a hand in the prosecution of Siegelman.

And there is ample, sworn evidence for this, as we have reported time and again. North Alabama attorney Jill Simpson signed a sworn affidavit to that effect last May, and testified under oath before the House Judiciary Committee legal staff one year ago, last September. And she has called on Pelosi to hold Rove in “inherent contempt.”

Birmingham attorney Doug Jones also testified under oath before the full committee that there is “no doubt” Siegelman’s case was “political.” Rep. Artur Davis, the Birmingham Democrat and a member of the House Judiciary Committee, has said the same.

According to Montgomery attorney Priscilla Duncan, who represents Ms. Simpson, if the full House doesn’t vote to hold Rove in contempt, there will be no reason for any American citizen to pay heed to a subpoena from Congress.

“The House has a duty to us as citizens to uphold the Constitution. If the members don’t have the spine to vote upholding the authority of their own subpoenas, they should be shamed from office,” Duncan said. “Karl Rove hasn’t been granted any executive immunity from the President in the Siegelman investigation. This is a no-brainer.”

If the House fails to follow up on this action, it will be a travesty of justice, for sure. I mean what is the job of a member of Congress if not to uphold the law? This is especially true as it relates to enforcing subpoenas to enforce Constitutional checks and balances to hold one branch of government, the executive, accountable to another, the legislative. That is their prime Constitutional directive.

“The full House must vote on the Rove contempt citation ASAP,” Siegelman said in response to an e-mail Wednesday morning while he was on his way to Tennessee to meet with former Vice President Al Gore and others.

Our editorial position is this: Any member of Congress who fails to support that effort should be impeached and removed from office. It is their duty according to their sworn oath to uphold the law and the Constitution.

Plus, if the Democrats in Congress don’t do something to weaken Karl Rove right now, he will continue to play a destructive role in the McCain-Palin campaign for president. What better way to get him out of the way for the next two months? Confiscate his little Blackberry and his cell phone and put his lying, spinning, pasty white ass in jail for contempt!

And for any other bloggers or media outlets lurking here, you can quote me on that!

Tags: Hold Rove in Contempt, House Judiciary Committee, Karl Rove Can Kiss My Ass

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 at 10:10 am and is filed under Alabama Democratic Party, Alabama Politics, Don Siegelman on Trial, Political Justice in America. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.