House Judiciary Committee Subpoenas Karl Rove, Again
January 26th, 2009New Evidence in Prosecution of Governor Don Siegelman
by Glynn Wilson
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers once again made it clear that he and his committee are not going to allow the corruption of the Justice Department on Bush’s watch to be swept under the proverbial “let’s just move forward” rug.
There is still some serious business to attend to, and at the top of the list, in the lead of Conyers’ press release, is a brand spanking new subpoena for Mr. Karl “Turd Blossom” Rove, demanding that he appear in person before the committee and “testify regarding his role in the Bush administration’s politicization of the Department of Justice, including the U.S. attorney firings and the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman.”
The subpoena calls for Mr. Rove to appear for a deposition on Monday, February 2, 2009.
Mr. Rove has previously refused to appear in response to a Judiciary Committee subpoena, claiming that even former presidential advisers cannot be compelled to testify before Congress. That “absolute immunity” position was supported by then-President Bush, but it has been rejected by U.S. District Judge John Bates — and President Obama has previously dismissed the claim as “completely misguided.”
“I have said many times that I will carry this investigation forward to its conclusion, whether in Congress or in court, and today’s action is an important step along the way,” Mr. Conyers said. Noting that the change in administration may impact the legal arguments available to Mr. Rove in this long-running dispute, Mr. Conyers added: “Change has come to Washington, and I hope Karl Rove is ready for it. After two years of stonewalling, it’s time for him to talk.”
Click here for the page with the link to a copy of the subpoena.
Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman reacted quickly from his iPhone via a Google Gmail account: “Chairman Conyers and the House Judiciary Committee’s subpoena of Karl Rove gives hope to those who want to know the extent of Karl Rove’s abuse of power and his misuse of the Department of Justice as a way to win elections.
“Chairman Conyers’ action gives meaning to the change that has been ushered in by the election of President Obama,” he said. “I am sure that I speak for millions of U.S. Citizens when I say that I am grateful for Mr. Conyers’ determination to seek the truth.”
“Those who abused their power must be held accountable, otherwise their misuse of power will be more likely to happen again,” he wrote. “Our democracy has been threatened by the use of the Department of Justice as a political weapon. Chairman Conyers’ action will serve to protect our democracy and restore people’s faith that no man is above the law.”
North Alabama attorney Jill Simpson, who came forward as a whistle-blower last summer and provided the key evidence for starting an investigation showing Siegelman’s case was political, said she was happy to hear about the subpoena.
Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.
“Martin Luther King Jr. in the Birmingham jail on April 16, 1963 said in a letter: ‘An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ I am glad that John Conyers understands what Dr. King meant, because it is important for our country that no man be above the law.”
And the fact is, she said: “An injustice occurred in the summer when Mr. Rove was allowed to thumb his nose at a Congressional subpoena. It has been a threat to justice ever since.”
Maybe now, she said, “Mr. Rove will raise his right hand and swear to God to tell the truth — as any normal citizen is required to do when facing a subpoena. It is my hope that justice is restored to the justice system in this country.”
Pam Miles, a staunch Siegelman Democrat, responded with a quote from her favorite late night comedian: “It a great day in America!”
“I knew this day was coming,” she said. “I had total faith in Congressman John Conyers. I personally witnessed Congressman Conyers looking into Governor Siegelman’s face and promising him that this was going to happen and that he ‘was not through with him (Rove) yet.’”
“I never doubted Conyers word,” she said. “I knew also, from getting to know some of his staff members (having called DC numerous times) that this would happen sooner rather than later.
“It a great day in America…”
According to Roll Call:
Conyers has released information he believes implicates Rove in the prosecution and conviction of Siegelman on corruption charges for political reasons. Rove has been accused of hatching a plan to prosecute Siegelman because he didn’t back down from contesting the 2001 gubernatorial election results that handed the office to Republican Bob Riley.
No word from Birmingham Congressman Artur Davis, who led the charge in last year’s hearings on Siegelman’s case. He no longer serves on the House Judiciary Committee and says he’s planning to run for governor of Alabama.
AP: House Judiciary Chairman Subpoenas Karl Rove
Tags: John Conyers, Karl Rove
January 27th, 2009 at 1:05 am
Chairman John Conyers needs to talk to the Justice Department about offering a plea bargain to Jack Abramoff, R.R., G.N., M.S., and T.R. who used Indian casinos money to fuel Bush’s Lieutenant Karl Rove political Hit Program. The scheme involved Bush appointing willing candidates, a major publishing company, money launderings, and tens of millions of Dollars. Some victims still don’t have the slightest idea.
Siegelman has been in Rove’s sights for over two decades, because he has not been easy to squash. He is very much like Joseph; God is with him. Watch what I say, Siegelman will be restored to a position greater than he ever had. I’m not going to speculate what God has in mind for those who conspired against him.
January 27th, 2009 at 11:11 am
Rove should be prosecuted, along with Al Gonzales, for what amounts to subversion of the Constitution and the rule of law, in my opinion.
Conyers is surely setting up a scenario in which Rove can be prosecuted whether he appears or refuses to – in the latter event he could be jailed for contempt of Congress.
Some jail time for Bushies who do not respect the Constitution and Bill of Rights seems in order to me.
January 27th, 2009 at 11:26 am
That’s what we’ve been pushing so hard for editorially here for months now. Some others are finally getting on-board, except of course for our congressman who wants to be governor…
January 28th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
From swift via e-mail:
People were polled weren’t told that Artur Davis is black. Some poll. Do results for Obama in Alabama mean nothing?
Poll: Davis’ race won’t hurt in governor’s race?
January 28th, 2009 at 10:26 pm
I read elsewhere that they asked about support for Davis twice. First without mentioning his race and again later telling the respondent that he was black. They say that the support increased among whites after they told them he was black. My feeling is that these are the racist who lie to pollsters when asked about race tinged political issues but vote their prejudices once they are in the voting booth. I know of two groups who look at this poll’s results with glee. The Davis folks and Republican strategists. Both want Davis to win the Democratic primary.
January 28th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
The purpose of the poll, paid for by Davis, was to advertise that he is electable. So…?
From Occupied USA
Rev. Jack Zylman
Southside, Birmingham
January 28th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
No other Democrats were included, so how can we know if he is electable — in the Democratic Party primary?
What, were they afraid to put Jim Folsom and other Dems in it to show he can’t win the primary?
Ask Democrats maybe?
January 29th, 2009 at 11:07 am
Ivan says via Pam’s list:
Hi Jack,
Regarding your comment, isn’t this the second or third poll we’ve been told about that says Artur is electable in Alabama? I dont know a lot about constructing a poll, but, from my limited experience, if you let me construct the poll, i can write “legitimate” questions and still get any results i want. I still haven’t gotten, and don’t expect to get, an answer from his staffer about his resignation from Judiciary to give him more time to campaign. I wish things were different — that race was not a monster factor — but we are what we are in the heart of dixie.
ivan
January 29th, 2009 at 11:50 am
From Jill Simpson via e-mail:
Our New American Groundhog
Once again Mr Rove has lied on me on TV.
This time on Bill OReilly he said Conyers could bring me and MR Siegelman before the committee and has not done so.
However, that is not true. Congress picked the method in which to question me and I went willingly and testified. So I have been before the committee in the way they picked for me to testify by deposition in front of their lawyers.
He however admitted on O’Reilly he has absolutely no intention of showing up and testifying to the panel they have selected him to testify before on Monday. It is unfortunate that Mr Rove can’t tell the truth on simple things. Maybe his lawyer knows it is in his best interest not to testify since he seems to have a problem with telling the truth. Further everyone should know the Republicans agreed to the way they wanted me to testify and I did what they ask and appeared before their lawyers. He should now respect what Congressman Conyer’s has ask of him.
If we allow Mr Rove on Groundhog Day February 2, 2009 to get a way with not appearing before congress again then our country has no rule of law. They should send someone to fetch him and my suggestion is “dog” the bountyhunter to bring him before Congress as he always finds the person he is looking for and let him and Gold Bars Luskins explain to the American public before Congress why he feels above the law.
Also I must add that he has compared Conyers to Ahab and himself to the whale. Well hopefully Mr Rove will not be the big fish that got away with thumbing his noses at congress and laughing about how he tricked them. At this point Mr Rove has announced his intention not to appear on TV so they should go ahead and hire whoever to pick him up before he leaves the country like he did the last time he was subpoened. He has announced to the world he has no intention of obeying the rule of law or respecting the congress or the constitution of the United States of America. It appears America’s new Ground Hog has seen his shadow and will be running back to the hole he crawled out of on Monday and seeking cover for all his misdeeds to Mr Siegelman and the USA Attorneys he is responsible for mistreating.
So this year I suggest we watch Mr Rove to see just exactly what kind of political weather this country is going to have for the next 12 months. Are we going to be a country that operates with sunshine or a country that continues to operate in darkness. What happens to our new groundhog who likes to roll around in the dirt and mud will tell us.
Hopefully Congress will pick sunshine even if our groundhog runs for cover. Otherwise it appears we may be in that movie Groundhog day where nothing changes until they get it right in Washington, D.C. How many times is it going to take congress to get it right? All they have to do is arrest Mr Rove to get it right so we can all move on to the future and show no man is above the law. Not even MR Rove is above the law no matter how hard he tries to tell us he is.
DANA JILL SIMPSON