Jason Leopold: Conyers May Call Rove, Miers to Testify Publicly About Attorney Firings
[Jason Leopold is editor in chief of The Public Record, www.pubrecord.org.]
Back in March, when House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers announced that he and his staff had reached an agreement to have Karl Rove and ex-White House counsel Harriet Miers testify privately about their roles in the firings of nine US attorneys, he said his panel also reserved the right to haul the former Bush administration officials before Congress to testify publicly about the matter.
Conyers is now considering taking advantage of that prearranged agreement. He and his staff have been engaged in talks that could result in Rove and Miers being called to testify before his panel sometime in the fall, according to several congressional sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Their expected appearance would mark the first time that senior Bush White House officials will testify publicly about a scandal that resulted in the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and other top Justice Department officials. Rove and Miers defied numerous congressional subpoenas seeking their sworn testimony over the past two years about the roles they played in the firings of the federal prosecutors.
Both Miers and Rove were subpoenaed by Conyers's committee numerous times and were held in contempt of Congress for refusing to appear before the panel. They said Bush administration attorneys advised them they were protected by George W. Bush's assertion of "absolute immunity" and were told not to appear before the committee.
If Rove and Miers are called to testify before Congress and refuse to appear than the agreement the Judiciary Committee entered into with the former officials would be considered breached and Congress "can resume the litigation," Conyers said in a statement hhis office issued March 4, after his panel reached a negotiated settlement to secure Rove and Miers' testimony. The parties agreed to stay the contempt case "until at least the completion of the [private interviews," The Constitutional Law Prof Blog noted. he agreement between the Judicairy Committee and Rove and Miers begins on page 4 of Rove Exhibit 1 .
Attorneys for Rove and Miers did not return messages left at their offices nor did they respond to emails seeking comment.
The questioning of Rove and Miers is expected to be led by committee member Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), a former federal prosecutor, who also led the questioning during their closed-door testimony before the committee in June and July.
The Judiciary Committee also plans to reach out to some of the fired federal prosecutors whose dismissals, according to documents and emails released by the panel last week, were politically motivated to assist in drafting new questions for Rove and Miers, Congressional sources said.
These sources added that, in addition to covering old ground, the committee wants Rove and Miers to publicly testify about what Bush knew and when he knew it...
Read entire article at Truthout
Back in March, when House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers announced that he and his staff had reached an agreement to have Karl Rove and ex-White House counsel Harriet Miers testify privately about their roles in the firings of nine US attorneys, he said his panel also reserved the right to haul the former Bush administration officials before Congress to testify publicly about the matter.
Conyers is now considering taking advantage of that prearranged agreement. He and his staff have been engaged in talks that could result in Rove and Miers being called to testify before his panel sometime in the fall, according to several congressional sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Their expected appearance would mark the first time that senior Bush White House officials will testify publicly about a scandal that resulted in the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and other top Justice Department officials. Rove and Miers defied numerous congressional subpoenas seeking their sworn testimony over the past two years about the roles they played in the firings of the federal prosecutors.
Both Miers and Rove were subpoenaed by Conyers's committee numerous times and were held in contempt of Congress for refusing to appear before the panel. They said Bush administration attorneys advised them they were protected by George W. Bush's assertion of "absolute immunity" and were told not to appear before the committee.
If Rove and Miers are called to testify before Congress and refuse to appear than the agreement the Judiciary Committee entered into with the former officials would be considered breached and Congress "can resume the litigation," Conyers said in a statement hhis office issued March 4, after his panel reached a negotiated settlement to secure Rove and Miers' testimony. The parties agreed to stay the contempt case "until at least the completion of the [private interviews," The Constitutional Law Prof Blog noted. he agreement between the Judicairy Committee and Rove and Miers begins on page 4 of Rove Exhibit 1 .
Attorneys for Rove and Miers did not return messages left at their offices nor did they respond to emails seeking comment.
The questioning of Rove and Miers is expected to be led by committee member Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), a former federal prosecutor, who also led the questioning during their closed-door testimony before the committee in June and July.
The Judiciary Committee also plans to reach out to some of the fired federal prosecutors whose dismissals, according to documents and emails released by the panel last week, were politically motivated to assist in drafting new questions for Rove and Miers, Congressional sources said.
These sources added that, in addition to covering old ground, the committee wants Rove and Miers to publicly testify about what Bush knew and when he knew it...