Former White House aide Karl Rove subpoenaed – again
Empty chair the Judiciary Committee saw the last time they subpoenaed Rove
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Monday subpoenaed former White House adviser Karl Rove, The Hill reported. The subpoena is intended to compel Rove to testify about his role in the dismissal of nine U.S. attorneys during the administration of former President George W. Bush, as well as the Justice Department’s prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, the report said.
Rove is one of several former White House officials who refused to testify voluntarily in the House and Senate in 2007 on the dismissal of the federal prosecutors. The Bush White House offered to allow executive branch officials to be interviewed behind closed doors, but insisted the officials could not be put under oath and there would be no transcripts of the interviews.
Rove has claimed executive privilege exemption from being compelled to testify but a federal court has rejected the claim.
“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,” said Conyers in announcing the subpoena.
So, is this when Karl Rove switches from “executive privilege” to the Fifth Amendment?
I find it passing strange no-one in the media ever asks why these guys can’t testify under oath — or why there can’t be any evidence saved, such as a transcript of the interviews.
To me, anyone who demands this sort of arrangement is automatically guilty, prior to a single question being asked.
Then again, what do I know? Not much, I guess. Probably if I was a lawyer or a media mogul, I’d understand why perfectly innocent people require such extraordinary protection from the law.
Cinaedh
January 27, 2009 at 7:00 am