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Rove Defies House Panel's Demands, Skips Hearing
Thursday, July 10, 2008

WASHINGTON �  Former White House adviser Karl Rove defied a
congressional subpoena and refused to testify Thursday about
allegations of political pressure at the Justice Department, including
whether he influenced the prosecution of a former Democratic governor
of Alabama.

Rep. Linda Sanchez, chairman of a House subcommittee, ruled with
backing from fellow Democrats on the panel that Rove was breaking the
law by refusing to cooperate, perhaps the first step toward holding
him in contempt of Congress.

Lawmakers subpoenaed Rove in May to hear about whether he played a
role in prosecutors' decisions to pursue cases against Democrats such
as former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman or in firing federal prosecutors
considered disloyal to the Bush administration.

Rove had been scheduled to appear at the House Judiciary subcommittee
hearing Thursday morning. A placard with his name sat in front of an
empty chair at the witness table, with a handful of protesters behind
it calling for Rove to be arrested.

A decision on whether to pursue contempt charges now goes to the full
Judiciary Committee and, ultimately, to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

House Republicans called Thursday's proceedings a political stunt and
said if Democrats truly wanted information they would take Rove up on
an offer he made to discuss the matter informally.

The House already has voted to hold two of President Bush's confidants
in contempt for failing to cooperate with its inquiry into whether the
administration fired nine federal prosecutors in 2006 for political
reasons.

The case, involving White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former
White House Counsel Harriet Miers, is in federal court and may not be
resolved before Bush's term ends in January.

The White House has cited executive privilege, arguing that internal
administration communications are confidential and that Congress
cannot compel officials to testify.

Rove says he is bound to follow the White House's guidance, although
he has offered to answer questions specifically on the Siegelman case
� but only with no transcript taken and not under oath.

Democrats have rejected the offer because the testimony would not be
sworn and, they say, could create a confusing record.

Rove has insisted publicly that he never tried to influence Justice
Department decisions and was not even aware of the Siegelman
prosecution until it landed in the news.

Siegelman � an unusually successful Democrat in a heavily Republican
state � was charged with accepting and concealing a contribution to
his campaign to start a state education lottery in exchange for
appointing a hospital executive to a regulatory board.

He was sentenced last year to more than seven years in prison but was
released in March when a federal appeals court ruled Siegelman had
raised "substantial questions of fact and law" in his appeal.

Siegelman and others have alleged the prosecution was pushed by GOP
operatives, including Rove, a longtime Texas strategist who was
heavily involved in Alabama politics before working at the White
House.

A former Republican campaign volunteer from Alabama told congressional
attorneys last year that she overheard conversations suggesting that
Rove had pressed Justice officials in Washington to prosecute
Siegelman.

The career prosecutors who handled Siegelman's case have insisted that
Rove had nothing to do with it, emphasizing that the former governor
was convicted by a jury.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,379621,00.html