Rove refuses call to testify under oath

By Ben Evans, Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- A House Judiciary Committee deadline passed Monday with former White House adviser Karl Rove standing by his refusal to testify about allegations that he pushed the Justice Department to prosecute former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman.

In his latest offer to settle the matter, Rove sent the panel a letter offering to respond to questions in writing, according to his attorney. But he reiterated that he would not testify publicly and under oath.

Committee leaders did not immediately answer questions about how they will respond. Earlier this month, they threatened to subpoena Rove if he did not agree to appear voluntarily by Monday.

The dispute is the latest in a standoff between President Bush and Congress over testimony from current and former White House staffers on a variety of issues.

The White House has balked at requests for staff testimony, arguing that the administration has no obligation to respond to congressional demands for the details of internal deliberations.

Democrats say Bush is taking the most expansive view of executive privilege since Watergate and that the executive branch cannot ignore Congress' demands for information. The panel is suing to get documents and testimony from former White House counsel Harriet Miers and Bush's chief of staff, Josh Bolten.

Rove had previously offered to discuss the Siegelman matter with committee members privately, without a transcript and not under oath.

Judiciary Democrats balked, saying it would not create a clear record and would not be sworn.

Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, said Monday the latest offer for written responses was intended to address concerns about establishing a clear record.

The committee is investigating whether Rove and Republican appointees at the Justice Department influenced Siegelman's prosecution to kill his chances for re-election. It is part of a broader inquiry into whether U.S. attorneys were fired for not aggressively pursuing cases against Democrats.

Siegelman, a Democrat who served one term as governor after being elected in 1998, was convicted in 2006 on bribery and other charges and sentenced to more than seven years in prison. He was recently released on bond pending appeal.

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Rove knows they will not put good, tough questions in writing

Karl Rove knows that Congress doesn't have the guts to put really good questions in writing; they would supply weak, open-ended questions with escape valves. Rove would be able to give answers to them all and without televised or video coverage and without any spontaneous remarks from Congress. Congresspersons wouldn't be able to stand up, wave their arms and pretend to be actually saying something.

"Should Have..." Conyers Running Out The Clock

Just about everybody inside and outside the beltway knows by now that "Should Have Impeached..." John Conyers is running out the clock on the 110th Democratic Congress.

He strongly believes he is helping Obama become his next democratic president by not holding any impeachment hearing, not even one. Also, his House Speaker Pelosi made it very easy for him to neglect his constitutional duty as she "always said, impeachment is off the table" anyway. "It's a waste of time" Pelosi said, so why bother?

So Conyers gets to write his letters and hope that somebody actually shows up for a hearing, takes the oath, and brings him some documents. It's just another "day job" for Conyers and he's really not a bit serious at all about getting anything done and everybody knows it.

"Why Nixon Should Have Been Impeached" by John Conyers Jr at Link CLICK HERE http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/2/4/95218/85782

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