Rove Subpoenaed Again, Ignores It, Again

Surprise, surprise, Karl Rove will not comply with the latest Congressional subpoena from John Conyers. The difference of course this time is that the Attorney General will now be Eric Holder and not Bush apologist Michael Mukasey. Will he force Rove to show up after he is held in contempt of Congress?



He better.

Wexler Threatens Inherent Contempt On Karl Rove

The Constitution states that we have three co-equal branches of government, but Bush's White House doesn't see it that way. Now the Congress must exert its power and hold Karl Rove and others accountable for their actions. Will they take the necessary steps to bring these criminals to justice? Time will only tell....and how much time it takes is just as important.

Apparently The Constitution Does Not Apply To Mr. Rove

It isn't breaking news that Karl Rove or anyone in or out of the Bush White House has any regard for our nation's highest governing document. What's the Constitution anyways when you have a lust for all encompassing power and a need to be above the law? Well Karl Rove does not have to come out and say that he or his friend the President want dictatorial powers in order to ignore the Congress, they just do it. And now they mock it.

From RawStory:

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) issued a subpoena Thursday to former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove for testimony about politicization of the Department of Justice (DOJ), including the case of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, who was jailed for bribery in what was widely seen as a political prosecution.

In response, Rove's attorney Robert Luskin questioned why the subpoena was necessary and mocked Conyers in a letter copied to RAW STORY.

"I do not misunderstand either the Committee's procedures or the scope of its interest in Mr. Rove; nor, in light of your reported remarks about the need for 'someone' to 'kick his ass,' am I the least bit confused about the Committee's motives and intentions," Luskin wrote. "I confess, however, that I do not understand why the Committee is threating a subpoena to Mr. Rove for information related to the alleged 'politicization of the Department of Justice,' when, as the Committee is surely aware, Mr. Rove has already received a subpoena for the same subject matter from the Senate Judiciary Committee."

How sad that the media then buys that this is strictly a partisan story. If the politicization of the Department of Justice is alleged, why can't Karl Rove voluntarily come to Congress to discuss that, under oath? Whats the harm if there has been no foul? The problem is, as we already know, there have been multiple fouls and Rove does not want to be held accountable for his criminal behavior. He hasn't shown up for his first subpoena from the Senate, the Department of Justice will not fulfill its duty to compel him to testify and the loser here is all of us and the health of our democracy.

All I have to say is that our next President, in addition to the hope and change he brings, better make sure that all those guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors be brought forward to face justice and not be allowed to get away with the raping of our Republic.

Go Wexler!

This man has to be one of the most passionate advocate of real oversight and reform in Congress.

Wow, Pelosi Actually Wrote The Letter

Congratulations Madam Speaker:

Washington, D.C. – Today, Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent the following letter to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, informing him of the referral letter sent to U.S. Attorney of the District of Columbia Jeffrey Taylor on contempt citations of former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten. Taylor is required by law to bring the matter before a grand jury. However, Mukasey has indicated that the Justice Department intends to prevent Taylor from complying with the law.

“There is no authority by which persons may wholly ignore a subpoena and fail to appear as directed because a President unilaterally instructs them to do so. Even if a subpoenaed witness intends to assert a privilege in response to questions, the witness is not at liberty to disregard the subpoena and fail to appear at the required time and place. Surely, your Department would not tolerate that type of action if the witness were subpoenaed to a federal grand jury,” she wrote.

“I strongly urge you to reconsider your position and to ensure that our nation is operating under the rule of law and not at presidential whim,” she added.

Two weeks ago, the House passed H.R. 979, which holds Miers and Bolten in contempt of their subpoenas.

You can read the letter via the link if you so choose, but this excerpt sums it up. Now the ball is in Mukasey's court. Will he comply with the Constitution, or continue being Bush's lackey? I'm going to go with the latter, you know, based on the last seven-plus years of this pathetic excuse of a Presidential Administration.

So once he ignores the letter, Pelosi will have the Judiciary Cmte (see Congressman Conyers) file a civil suit. This is the agreed upon action and it isn't even an idea hatched by Democrats. No, this one was concocted by no less than James Sensenbrenner, the Judiciary Cmte Chairman back when the GOP held the house.

Gee, look at that, Republicans actually do have some relevant ideas!

White House Subpoenas Michael Moore

Apparent the White House has nothing better to do with its time than harass Michael Moore. The President had him subpoenaed yesterday in order to testify about his trip to Cuba. Since Mr. Moore documented his excursion to Cuba, enabling 9/11 victims to receive ridiculously inexpensive treatment for the ailments that our own government refuses, there is no reason for this. If the White House wants to know what went on, they should see SiCKO.

From RawStory:

Moore told the audience that he was notified of the subpoena backstage.

"I haven't even told my own family yet," Moore remarked. "I was just informed when I was back there with Jay that the Bush administration has now issued a subpoena for me."

Moore declared that the subpoena was unwarranted, saying, "this was a work of journalism."

"I was there to help them and now I’m going to face this further harassment from the Bush people," Moore said, according to a transcript. “Aren’t they busy with something else?"

Obviously the White House refuses to be busy with anything that might actually be good for the country. Instead they take up all their time with hiding secrets from Congress and pulling this type of crap. Leave Michael Moore alone and testify in front of Congress about wiretapping, the Attorney-Gate mess and all the other crimes committed at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Fighting Republican Memory Loss

There is a new thing on the market if you keep forgetting things like crimes committed while in the Bush Administration. Do you have some of the problems below? Democratic Committee Chairs might have an answer for you.

Congressman Dan Burton The Hypocrite

Republicans are widely known to have done certain things while Bill Clinton was President. Things like subpoenas issued over the Monica Lewinsky scandal, pursuing impeachment and generally abusing their powers from 1995 to 2000. Then when Bush came in Congress became a giant rubber stamp for their new Commander in Chief. Now that the Democratic party is in power Congress is beginning to clean up the gigantic mess that the previous sessions ( 104-109th) left in their wake.

Of course there are still roughly 200 Republican congressman are left and plenty are complaining about the new style of governing. Issues such as oversight, working longer hours and passing legislation for the people over the corporations are stressing the Republicans and they are starting to whine over it. Dan Burton is the latest crybaby, particularly about Henry Waxman who replaced him as Chairman of the House Oversight Committee.

Check this out from Roll Call via Crooks and Liars:

Rep. Dan Burton — the Indiana Republican who showered subpoenas on the Clinton White House as chairman of the House Government Reform Committee — is joining other Republicans in warning that the committee under its new Democratic leadership may be abusing its subpoena powers.

At the end of March … Burton, along with committee ranking member Tom Davis (R-Va.) and most of the other Republican members warned that the Democrats are straying close to the line of what is appropriate in oversight.

“Effective, constructive oversight is much more a matter of due diligence and digging than depositions and sensational disclosures,” the Republicans wrote.

Awww isn't that cute. Dan Burton thinks he can forget about his past transgressions, namely the 141 subpoenas he issued to the Clintons (guess how many went to the Bush Administration) on anything he could think of. He even subpoenaed the wrong guy because of a similar name situation. Dan really should just shut the hell up, he has absolutely no authority or high ground to stand on to preach about abusing subpoena powers.