U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers is not giving up on forcing former Bush political adviser Karl Rove to appear before the committee and testify under oath. He has sent another letter to Rove’s attorney, Robert Luskin, with an enclosed subpoena for Rove to appear before the committee on Feb. 23.
You can read the letter at these links: Letter Page 1 | Letter Page 2
Rove had originally been subpoenaed to appear Feb. 2, but his liberal lawyer Bob Luskin obtained a delay while Obama’s new Attorney General Eric Holder was confirmed, sworn in and briefed on the “executive privilege” issue.
Meanwhile, contradicting his own lawyer, Rove said in a recent speech in California that he didn’t intend to appear, citing an executive privilege claimed by President Bush.
Conyers tells Luskin in today’s letter that he won’t agree to any more delays. Conyers writes:
Given Mr. Rove’s public statements that he does not intend to comply with the subpoena, I am puzzled as to why Mr. Rove needs a mutually convenient date to fail to appear.
Conyers also says he can’t accept Luskin’s request to have Rove’s testimony limited to the matter of the case of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, indicating the committee also wants to explore Rove’s White House role in the political firings of U.S. attorneys across the country.
The Obama White House is scheduled to formally weigh in on the contempt proceedings and the executive privilege issue next week. What position the White House takes could determine whether Rove will ultimately be required to testify before Congress — or in court, where Rove could face criminal charges.
Reacting to the story today, Siegelman said via e-mail that Chairman Conyers deserves thanks “for his determination to get at the truth as to Karl Rove’s use of the Department of Justice for political purposes.”
“Chairman Conyers is on the right course. Hold Rove’s feet to the fire and when he again defies the lawful subpoena AGAIN, a Congressional contempt citation should follow. That will mean we will be one step closer to the truth and one step away from holding someone (and likely many more) accountable,” he said. “Our American Democracy has been threatened by these rouges, our constitutional rights abused and our system of Justice subverted.
“It is now up to us to repair the damage done to the foundations of our democracy,” he said. “That starts with digging until we get the truth as Chairman John Conyers has been doing and holding accountable those who have abused their power.”
He indicated, however, that Karl Rove may never be able to afford to testify under oath about his role in the prosecution, “without lying or taking the 5th,” he said. “If your readers can take a few minutes to review CBS’ 60 Minutes story you can clearly see why Rove will never answer truthfully … because it’s crystal clear that he is guilty of an abuse of power in using the Department of Justice as a political weapon to win elections.”
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