White House Confirms: Rove’s “Official Duties” Included Witchhunts of Democrats

[kpete]

White House Confirms: Rove’s “Official Duties” Included Witchhunts of Democrats
By: emptywheel Thursday July 10, 2008 10:07 am

Surprise surprise. Rove was too chicken to give testimony under oath to show up before HJC today. That's not surprising. What I find surprising (well, not really) are the thin excuses that Republicans are coming up with to excuse Turdblossom from obeying a subpoena.

First, according to the statement Sanchez put out, Fred Fielding did intervene to give a last minute reprieve to Karl--though still without invoking executive privilege.

http://judiciary.house.gov/Media/PDFs/Sanchez080710.pdf
First, the claims have not been properly asserted here. The Subcommittee has not received a written statement directly from the President, let alone anyone at the White House on the President’s behalf, asserting Executive Privilege, or claiming that Mr. Rove is immune in this instance from testifying before us. Nor is any member of the White House here today to raise those claims on behalf of the President. The most recent letter from Mr. Rove’s lawyer simply relies on a July 9, 2008 letter to him from the current White House counsel directing that Mr. Rove should disobey the subpoena and refuse to appear at this hearing.

The July 9, 2008 letter from White House Counsel Fred Fielding claims that Mr. Rove “is constitutionally immune from compelled congressional testimony about matters that arose during his or her tenure as a presidential aide and that relate to his or her official duties.”2

I'll take that as confirmation from Nixon's former lawyer that Karl Rove's official duties included intervening in criminal investigations and trials to make sure popular Democrats' careers were ruined.

..............

Update: As I suspected, Nixon's former lawyer is, in fact, asserting that politicized prosecutions of Democrats are part of the "official duties" of the President's Senior Advisor.

We have been further advised that because Mr. Rove was an immediate presidential adviser and because the Committee seeks to question him regarding matters that arose during his tenure and relate to his official duties in that capacity, Mr. Rove is not required to appear in response to the Committee's subpoena. Accordingly, the President has directed him not to do so.



more at:
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/07/10/republicans-bend-over-backward-to-invent-excuses-for-rove/

[Ian David]

1. And were wiretaps part of Rove's "Witch Hunting Toolbox" n/t

[Indenturedebtor]

2. Don't ask. Those have recently been declared to have been legal all along

Same story different day. Where's my strongly worded letter? Come on Dems don't let us down! Let the ink fly!

[paparush]

3. He probably got hourly NSA updates emailed to him on his Blackberry.

Through those RNC servers, giving him up to the minute dirt on rivals - Repubs, Dems, Indpendents alike.

BASTARDS!

[ColbertWatcher]

4. And destroying the Constitution! n/t

[RC]

5. Karl Roves job in the White House was political adviser to bu$h.

Rove was paid government money and used government space and equipment to conduct political activities on government time. That alone should get him prison time.

[windoe]

6. Evil pecker.

So he collected dirt on people for blackmail purposes, probably. Coercion.

[opihimoimoi]

7. This is NOT what the Framers had in mind...they wanted transparancey

[Enrique]

8. and we're paying for it

:mad:

[symbolman]

9. Buck up People..

Rove has been put in a Squeeze Play legally, and he's just fucked himself with this admission.. NOW he's Liable for Many Crimes.

Let's hope they send the SGT At Arms to arrest that bag of shit the minute he shows his pasty fat face around town.

I wonder if he's even coming Back before Obama is Prez.. Might be hard for him to direct the Theft of THIS Election being hounded into Fleeing his Own Country..

Its Hilarious! Eventually, he'll get his, never fear! :)

[a kennedy]

10. I hope you're right symbolman.....

I hate rove and this whole admin. :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: edit for grammar

[symbolman]

11. We interviewed Siegelman years ago

He's the insertion point for Congress to FRY Rove and all the installed Federalist assholes in the DOJ via Rove.. We've been on top of this guy, and I truly believe he's headed for a Major fall.. When, I dunno, but its coming..

Hell, the chickenshit had to Flee the country already!

I'm liking it, means he's SCARED And Guilty :)

[bdamomma]

12. it can't be any clearer than that? we have a dictator

"Accordingly, the President has directed him not to do so".