Friday Prosecutors to Question Rove on U.S. Attorney Firings

[CatWoman]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/14/AR2009051402816.html


Former top White House official Karl Rove will be interviewed tomorrow as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into the firing of U.S. attorneys during the Bush administration, according to two sources familiar with the appointment.

Rove has remained in the news as a commentator and political analyst since departing the White House. In an essay in today's Wall Street Journal, he criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), arguing that she may have misled the public about her knowledge of detainee interrogation tactics that critics assert are torture.

As a senior adviser to President George W. Bush, Rove emerged at the center of numerous policy and political debates. He will be questioned tomorrow by Connecticut prosecutor Nora R. Dannehy, who was named last year to examine whether any former senior Justice Department and White House officials lied or obstructed justice in connection with the dismissal of federal prosecutors in 2006.

Robert D. Luskin, a lawyer for Rove, declined comment this afternoon on the imminent interview. So did Tom Carson, a spokesman for Dannehy.

Dannehy mostly has operated in the shadows, quietly issuing subpoenas for documents through a federal grand jury in the District. But in recent weeks she has interviewed other former government aides, including White House political deputies Scott Jennings and Sarah Taylor. She also has reached out to representatives for former Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) and his chief of staff, Steve Bell, in an effort to determine whether New Mexico U.S. Attorney David C. Iglesias was removed for improper political reasons.

[lamp_shade]

1. Holy cow! Tomorrow? That's great.

[Botany]

2. Waterboard his fat ass

The man needs to be in jail.

[CatWoman]

3. LOLOLOL!!!!!

:rofl:

[Catshrink]

4. Will this be under oath?

Wonder how long his nose will be after the testimony?

[CatWoman]

5. I would think so

as subpoenas were issued.....

[Catshrink]

8. Sweet!

I hope he hangs himself on his testimony.

[Cha]

6. That was some

sick shit they had goin' on with the US Attorney Firings. I hope they get nailed eventually.

[David Zephyr]

7. Biggest news of the day.

This is welcome news to me.

[dmr]

9. Does anyone know anything about Nora R. Dannehy?

I sure hope she's been as outraged as I've been, and nails his lying, stinky, evil ass.

[CatWoman]

10. live blogging going on here:

Post staff writer Carrie Johnson discusses the latest news from the Justice Department, including the interview today of Bush White House official Karl Rove by federal prosecutors investigating the firing of several U.S. attorneys.

Boston: What are the logistics of the interview? Will he be formally sworn under oath? Can he claim "executive privelege" as a reason not to answer certain questions?

Carrie Johnson: Thanks Boston, the logistics of the interview this morning of former Bush aide Karl Rove remain a little murky. What we do know is that prosecutor Nora Dannehy has traveled to the Georgetown office of Rove's lawyer, Bob Luskin, and that Rove is submitting to an interview regarding any role he played in the decision to fire 9 U.S. attorneys in 2006. Rove will not be able to invoke executive privilege, since the privilege belongs to former President Bush, and Bush agreed to waive these issues for the most part to settle a related case filed by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year. I believe, though would appreciate comment from the peanut gallery on this, that it is a crime to mislead a federal prosecutor, FBI agent, etc. in an interview -- that that extends beyond testimony to a grand jury.

It's worth noting that Dannehy already has interviewed several other key former White House players and has reached out to lawmakers as well -- Rove by no means is the only character to be a focus of her interest, and Rove has said he will fully cooperate with the Dannehy investigation.



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/05/14/DI2009051403253.html?hpid=topnews

[Aloha Spirit]

13. Thanks... two most interesting parts for me:

Carryover in DOJ....
Barrington, Ill.: President Clinton discharged many U.S. attorneys at the beginning of his tenure in 1992. Many of those released presumably were of a mindset favorable to Republican Party principles since they were appointed by Republican president Ronald Reagan. Can one really believe that the Clinton firings weren't "political" in nature?

Carrie Johnson: The distinction that needs to be made is this:

U.S. attorneys are political appointees who can be fired at will. However, it is impermissible to fire them for improper political reasons (such as lawmakers believe they are not prosecuting enough Democrats on the eve of a contested election). In the case of the nine fired U.S. attorneys, IG and OPR investigators concluded that improper reasons played a role in a small number of dismissals. That's what Dannehy is investigating.

For what it's worth, the Obama administration took a different approach from the Clintonites...The White House and Justice Department officials left in place the Bush holdovers to prevent unrest and disruption in important cases, but will move methodically to propose its own candidates for the key posts in the months ahead. The new team took into account guidance from career federal prosecutors, who had written to Deputy Attorney General David Ogden and other Justice transition leaders asking them to avoid disruptions.

* * *

Siegelman....
SW Nebraska: Will there be any questions about former Alabama Governor Don Siegleman's incarceration?

Carrie Johnson: An appeals court recently affirmed the conviction of former Alabama Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman, who is trying to remain out of prison in part by alleging his prosecution was politically motivated. The Justice Department Office of Professional Responsibility has been conducting its own investigation into Siegelman's accusations but the findings have not yet been publicly released. Rove's lawyer, Bob Luskin, has told other media outlets this year that Rove voluntarily submitted to an interview in that case and that he has nothing to fear from it.

[NYC_SKP]

11. This is impossible because Obama=Bush. It's all I read about any more.

"This isn't change we can believe in."

"Meet the new boss..."

"We've been had..."

"Where is my single payer that Obama promised us?"

(you know what I mean?)

[Thrill]

12. The Special Prosecutor was appointed by Mukasey

I doubt anything comes of this.