Karl Rove Watch

On June 20, 2008 on C-Span, I saw Former Press Secretary Mr. Scott McClellan appear before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary (House Judiciary Committee, for short) regarding the Ms. Valerie Plame matter and his book What Happened. C-Span; Scott McClellan Mr. McClellan was asked whether Mr. Rove would tell the truth before the Committee. The Committee mentioned that they have been trying to get Mr. Rove to testify.
McClellan did not convey great confidence in the veracity of any testimony that Rove would ever give, based on his experience with Mr. Rove on the Ms. Plame matter. When he was former Press Secretary, Mr. McClellan told reporters that Mr. Rove was not involved in the exposure of CIA Operative Ms. Valerie Plame’s identity in 2003, because Mr. Rove made two confirmations of his noninvolvement to him in private. Mr. McClellan later discovered that what Mr. Rove had said to him, which McClellan then relayed to the American public media, were lies.

After watching this C-Span testimony, I had to ask myself the question, “Where is Mr. Karl Rove?” Will he testify? When? In order to answer this question, I did a search online for answers, which led me to the House Judiciary Committee’s website House Judiciary. Below is some of the history I found.

Since July 2007, after Special Counsel Mr. Patrick Fitzgerald’s investigation ended, the House Judiciary Committee has been investigating allegations of selective or politically motivated prosecution Judiciary Doc. This includes the exposure of Ms. Plame’s identity; the prosecution of Governor Siegelman; and the firings in 2006 of nine (9) U.S. Attorneys because they were not serving the Bush administration’s political goals newsletter; judiciary news. The hearings would also examine whether U.S. Attorneys were hired based on their political party affiliation and campaign contributions, instead of being hired because they were qualified for the jobs. Inviting Mr. Rove to provide testimony into these complaints was one aspect of the House Judiciary Committee’s investigation, as Mr. Rove seems to be the “missing link” in this investigation.

According to the House Judiciary Committee website and the Committee’s subpoena (source: judiciary schedule), Mr. Karl Rove is scheduled to appear before the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law this Thursday, July 10. On March 20, 2007, the House Judiciary Committee authorized Mr. Conyers to issue subpoenas for Rove and other people (Harriet Miers, William Kelley, Scott Jennings and Kyle Sampson), and for unredacted documents the Committee has not yet received that are related to the hearing judiciary.gov. On April 17, 2008, Mr. Rove was invited to testify before the Committee. On June 16, 2008, Rove was subpoenaed to appear on July 10 for the Subcommittee meeting.

On July 1, 2008, Mr. Robert Luskin, who represents Mr. Rove, wrote to Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) that Mr. Rove will respectfully decline to appear before the Subcommittee on July 10, “on the grounds that Executive Privilege confers upon him immunity from process in response to a subpoena directed to this subject.” Mr. Rove is willing to hold a private meeting without transcript or oath.

On July 3, 2008, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Mr. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and subcommittee Chairwoman Ms. Linda Sánchez (D-CA) wrote to Mr. Luskin, that Mr. Rove’s failure to appear could result in contempt proceedings. They wrote that Mr. Rove is not immune from testifying. At the very least, he is being asked to show up at the Subcommittee meeting
(judiciary news; Conyers/Sanchez).
Will Mr. Rove ever make a public appearance before Americans? If not via C-Span tomorrow, on July 10, then he will definitely appear before a former Democratic candidate for President! On Monday, Think Progress announced that Mr. John Edwards will debate Mr. Rove at the University of Buffalo campus on September 26. (Think Progress Rove/Edwards) Maybe Mr. Rove just needs the right audience and sparring partner in order to show. Or maybe he just needs an engagement after July 31, the last day the House Judiciary will be in session. All kidding aside, the stall tactic Mr. Rove is using to keep from testifying to the House Judiciary does not work in his favor. I still get the sense that Mr. Rove is acting in an unlawful, unpatriotic manner; he has no respect for American democracy. His actions—to accept the University of Buffalo engagement and to reject the House Judiciary Committee invitation to just appear—also seem arrogant and evasive, especially in the face of a subpoena over a year old. On the other hand, I applaud the House Judiciary’s efforts towards continuation of their investigation in as professional a manner as possible. This investigation is very valuable for the American public and should garner the support of government officials under the law to continue unimpeded.


Submitted by the Boldly Liberal Intern