Well, He's Contemptable, For Sure

TPM Muckraker is reporting that the House Judiciary Committee has just voted to hold Karl Rove in contempt of congress for fleeing the country (like a criminal) to escape a subpoena to appear before the Committee and answer the many questions surrounding his use of the DOJ as a political weapon against former Alabama governor Don Siegelman:

The final vote was 20 ayes and 14 nays. With Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) voting "absolutely, 100% aye."

In a memo on the Full Committee meeting, Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) summarized the facts surrounding Rove's refusal to even appear before the committee and assert executive privilege:

Mr. Rove has refused even to appear before the Committee and assert whatever privileges that he believes may apply to his testimony, relying on excessively broad and legally insufficient claims of "absolute immunity" - never recognized by any court - in declining to appear.

Now they need to vote the issue in congress, and then get the Sergeant at Arms to lock that man up until he's prepared to testify.

From Brave New Films' press release on the matter (you'll remember they'd been leading a petition drive to get the HJC to do just this - 127,000 Americans signed on):

Three boxes of petitions were hand delivered to Congresswoman and House Judiciary Committee member Linda Sanchez (D-CA) yesterday afternoon, who received them in person. "I think it's ridiculous that Karl Rove thinks that he doesn't have to follow the law," said Congresswoman Sanchez. "And nobody in this country should be above the law." This morning, Congresswoman Sanchez was among the sizable majority of committee members who voted to recommend to the full House of Representatives that Rove be found in contempt for willfully ignoring a Congressional subpoena.

Should the House pass a contempt resolution, which it can do by a simple majority vote, then the Sergeant-at-Arms for the chamber would be ordered to arrest Karl Rove and bring him to the floor of the House to answer to the charges and to be issued punishment. The case would then be referred to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, who would in turn refer it to a grand jury. If convicted, Rove could face between one month and one year in jail.