by Deb Cupples | In May, the House Judiciary committee subpoenaed former White House Political Adviser Karl Rove, seeking information about the politicization of the Justice Department including the questionable prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman (see subpoena text and cover letter).
Rove was supposed to testify before the Judiciary Committee (actually, one of its subcommittees) on Thursday July 10, but he opted to not appear. Mr. Rove also left the country, reportedly taking a trip that had been planned before last week's hearing.
Perhaps Mr. Rove felt that changing vacation plans was just too difficult -- maybe he had highly coveted tickets to an international theater production or sporting event.
Though Subcommittee chair Linda Sanchez had been communicating with Mr. Rove and his attorneys since the subpoena was issued, she reportedly was not told of Mr. Rove's upcoming travel plans (see video ).
The only member of the Subcommittee who seemed aware of Mr. Rove's itinerary was Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT), who has often over the last year been openly hostile toward committee democrats for even investigating the politicization of the Justice Department.
Rep. Cannon doesn't seem to think that investigating potential wrong doing within the Justice Department is part of the Judiciary Committee's job.
Mr. Rove had claimed that he is immune from testifying under the president's executive privilege, and the Subcommittee voted 7-1 that Rove's immunity claim is invalid. The one vote to protect Mr. Rove came from Rep. Cannon.
Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers commented:
"I will seriously consider all available options to obtain Mr. Rove’s testimony as required by the subpoena. Whatever path we take, the end result must be the same: the full restoration of our constitutional system of checks and balances and the principle that no one -- not the president and certainly not Karl Rove -- is above the law."
In May, Committee member Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) told MSNBC that Mr. Rove's non-compliance with the subpoena could lead to Mr. Rove's arrest.
It certainly would be entertaining if Mr. Rove were greeted by hand-cuff-bearing policemen as he re-enters the U.S.
Related Buck Naked Politics Posts:
* Fired U.S. Attorney Scandal Overview
* Old News: Justice Dept. "Injected Politics into Hiring" Practices
* Special Counsel Stopped Investigation of Siegelman Prosecution
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