Former top Bush aide Rove refuses to testify in Congress

2008-07-04 14:24:09 [ Big Normal Small ]    　Comment

WASHINGTON, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Karl Rove, President George W. Bush's former top political adviser, refused to testify in Congress on "politicization" within the Justice Department, the Politico reported Thursday.

Rove had been scheduled to appear on July 10.

His refusal to respond to a Judiciary Committee subpoena drew astern response from Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Commercial and Administrative Law subcommittee.

"We want to make clear that the subcommittee will convene as scheduled and expects Rove to appear, and that a refusal to appear in violation of the subpoena could subject Rove to contempt proceedings, including statutory contempt under federal law and proceedings under the inherent contempt authority of the House of Representatives," Conyers and Sanchez wrote in a letter to Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin.

Luskin said Rove "is simply not free to accede to the committee's view and take a position inconsistent with that asserted by the White House in the litigation."

He had offered to make Rove available to the committee in private, without taking an oath and with no transcript kept, or would allow him to respond to written questions from the panel.

But Conyers and Sanchez have rejected the offer as inadequate.

Democrats want to question Rove about his knowledge of the prosecution of former Alabama Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman, as well as the firing of nine U.S. attorneys back in 2006.

Rove has denied he has any involvement in the two cases.

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