Rove Refuses House Judiciary SubpoenaJust last week, House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) subpoenaed a big chunk of the Bush Administration to talk to the Committee about the Valerie Plame leak scandal. Among those listed to testify: Karl Rove, Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Scott McClellan, Dan Bartlett and Andrew Card.
And, predictably, Rove is the first one to thumb his nose at the Committee.
In a letter from Rove’s attorney to Chairman Conyers, Robert Luskin writes:
While I understand that you would prefer— and the Congress has taken the position in the pending litigation— that Mr. Rove appear in person and assert any applicable privileges on a question by question basis, Mr. 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. Mr. Rove will respectfully decline to appear before the Subcommittee on July 10 on the grounds that Executive Privilege confers upon him immunity from process in response to subpoena directed to this subject.
Our old friend executive privilege, rears its head again.