More on Immunity from Congressional Subpoenas

Well, yesterday the talk was that US District Judge John Bates' decision on Josh Bolten and Harriet Miers' claims of immunity from congressional subpoenas would determine next steps in bringing Karl Rove to justice through a Contempt of Congress resolution. Well, Judge Bates has made his call:

President Bush's top advisers are not immune from congressional subpoenas, a federal judge ruled Thursday in an unprecedented dispute between the two political branches.

The House Judiciary Committee wants to question the president's chief of staff, Josh Bolten, and former legal counsel Harriet Miers, about the firing of nine U.S. attorneys. But President Bush says they are immune from such subpoenas. They say Congress can't force them to testify or turn over documents.

U.S. District Judge John Bates disagreed. He said there's no legal basis for that argument. He said that Miers must appear before Congress and, if she wants to refuse to testify, she must do so in person.

"Harriet Miers is not immune from compelled congressional process; she is legally required to testify pursuant to a duly issued congressional subpoena," Bates wrote.

He said that both Bolten and Miers must give Congress all non-privileged documents related to the firings.

Now, the contempt citation against Rove needs to get a full vote as soon as is humanly possible (which can pass the House with a single-vote majority) and once that's done, the Sergeant-At-Arms needs to be dispatched, post haste, to pluck that weasel off the streets.

What's John Say?

Has anyone asked John McCain to comment on Karl Rove's current situation? Just wondering. I mean, Rove is an adviser to the McCain campaign, is he not? We've certainly seen, if not Rove's hand, at least his spirit moving in the tack the McCain camp has taken recently.

So, what's John have to say about all this? Wouldn't he want to encourage Rove to respect the subpoena, and by extension, the law? Or does he, rather, encourage such flagrant disregard of the laws of this nation?

Or even worse, does John McCain actively support the use of the nation's justice apparatus as a political tool to be used against one's enemies? That's certainly a question we'd want a potential Chief Executive to answer, is it not?

Inquiring minds would like to know.

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.

Don Siegelman to McCain: Make Rove Testify

From an interview he gave with the Huffington Post, we learn that former Alabama Gov. (and target of Karl Rove's own personal US Attorneys office) Don Siegelman is calling on John McCain to urge his "informal adviser" (Rove) to testify before congress as he was compelled to do by subpoena:

On Friday, former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman called on John McCain to compel his informal adviser Karl Rove to testify before Congress, and to remove Rove from any and all campaign capacities.

"Sen. McCain should distance himself from Karl Rove," said Siegelman. "And I think it is important and a smart political move [for him] to call on Rove to go and obey the law and to show up before the Judiciary Committee, to put his hand on the Bible, and to try to tell the truth - or at least plead the fifth."

Siegelman, whose controversial trial for corruption contained many Rove fingerprints, would not go so far as to claim that by employing Rove as a consultant, McCain was sullying his own good-government credentials. "That's a question that is left to the people and the electorate and they will have an opportunity to express themselves in November," he said.

But he argued that it was absolutely vital that the presumptive Republican nominee -- who, according to published reports, has received money from and privately consulted with Rove -- insist that the former Bush confidante respect Congress' investigative prerogatives. Barack Obama, he added, should do the same.

"I would like to see Senator Obama speak out on this issue and call on Congress to hold Rove in contempt because no man is above the law," he said. "And I think its set a terrible example going forward if we do not hold Rove accountable."

Siegelman's charges were laid out in an interview with the Huffington Post at the Netroots Nation conference in Austin, Texas. He promised to elaborate on the issue during a panel discussion later on Friday.

The remarks came just days after Rove refused to testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee about his involvement on the former governor's dubious prosecution on corruption charges. Rove, who witnesses say helped orchestrate Siegelman's conviction, has ignored a subpoena to appear before the Committee, and is expected to face contempt charges in the coming days.

You know, somehow I just don't imagine we'll be seeing John McCain do anything of the sort.

Once again, if you feel that Karl Rove is not above the law, do sign the petition to the House Judiciary Committee.

Frog Marching, Deferred

Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films have launched a petition drive to pressure the House Judiciary Committee to hold Karl Rove in contempt of Congress for ignoring the congressional subpoena which required him to come testify on his political manipulation of the US justice system for political ends. It is fully within their power to jail him for his contempt, and that is the goal here, to make him pay for his illegal doings.

To help set the stage, they've produced this short and very informative video:

As noted, Rove's executive privilege "defense" for refusing to appear has no standing, since the Judiciary Committee would not be asking anything about his dealings or conversations with the president. On top of that, Bush never even claimed executive privilege for Rove on this matter.

It's long past time for this man to be held accountable for his many crimes. Unfortunately, the Congress will fail to do so (yet again) without pressure from an informed and angry populace. So, if you agree that Karl Rove is not above the law, please do sign the petition.