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Conyers to Rove: Time to Talk About US Attorneys
Last week, we talked to a number of experts who said that President Obama's executive order on presidential records might well affect the ongoing effort to get information about the Bush White House's role in the US Attorney firings.
And it looks like John Conyers is of the same mind. The House Judiciary chair this afternoon issued a subpoena to Karl Rove to testify before the committee on February 2.
Rove had claimed immunity from an earlier Conyers-issued subpoena, citing executive privilege. As a press release accompanying today's subpoena points out, "[t]hat "absolute immunity" position was supported by then-President Bush, but it has been rejected by U.S. District Judge John Bates and President Obama has previously dismissed the claim as 'completely misguided.'"
In other words, although Obama's order on records directly addressed only the question of a former president's material docuement -- not testimony from his aides -- there's reason to think that the principle of openness over secrecy that Obama has outlined both in the order and elsewhere could strengthen Conyers' position on this issue.
Said Conyers:
I have said many times that I will carry this investigation forward to its conclusion, whether in Congress or in court, and today's action is an important step along the way. Change has come to Washington, and I hope Karl Rove is ready for it. After two years of stonewalling, it's time for him to talk.
We'll be watching this very closely...













Conyers jumped the gun. I really think that this is going to turn out bad for Obama no matter what decision he makes from this. Politically, it looks calculated because Rove just came out attacking Obama's decision on Gitmo.
However, with the support for the stimulus falling apart on the Republican side, and Obama having to take the time to go sell it all this week, this is something he needed to avoid making a decision on, at least this week.
Having said that, I wanted Conyers to do this to Rove, I just feel that he should have been more patient. Patience doesn't appear to be one of his strong suits.
January 26, 2009 8:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Depends on how the testimony plays out in the long run. Rove is no pushover, so I suspect no amount of rope will cause him to hang himself. Methinks this requires a longer outlook... and ultimately, if they can prove SIGNIFICANT criminal wrong-doing, then there's no political cost to Obama/Conyers, only to Bush and Bush loyalists.
January 26, 2009 8:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Disagree. Nobody, but NOBODY knows or cares that Rove is attacking Obama on Gitmo. What they do remember is that Rove was up to his neck in politicizing every government agency he could get his fat fingers into. This is a low-cost move. Republicans might want to fight this, but they're in a rear guard action, and I'm betting they won't spend the effort to protect someone they never really liked anyway.
January 26, 2009 8:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Who is going to defend Rove now ? The man is despised.
He turned the DOJ into a dirty-tricks department for his permanent campaign.
The scheme backfired; he resigned; he a living symbol of the most odious aspects of the last administration.
Conyers is right; Rove will testify; Rove will remind the nation what a hateful ass he is.
Regrettably the age is past when malefactors were put in stocks and pelted with manure or bullwhipped down Main Street.
January 26, 2009 9:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Conyers is a good man and I really hope that his efforts would force OBAMA to allow prosecution of all who committed crime against our country. But, no matter what we have to stop the war on Terror which is terrorizing our souls.
War on terror Must End Mr. Obama
by:Farhat Maquami
Obama must declare non-equivocally that the Crusade against Peace loving Muslims under the Banner of “War on terror” has ended. If he ever wants to reverse the economic downturn this is the magic word.. The effect of this Executive Order or even simple declaration in a speech would be much stronger on the American Psyche than any misguided economic stimulus which is taking us nowhere.
He should declare to the world that Bush’s War on Terror is over and from now on we would pursue a “Mission for Peace and Prosperity” with all peace loving nations.
He has to declare that change cannot materialize if we keep the conceptual framework inherited from a hate mongering administration who alienated the whole world, we cannot march toward a peaceful future. The false concept of “War on terror” has been internalized by many Americans that they cannot accept any idea of peace unless the most powerful man in the world declare the war is over and we have to think Peace! Bush’s propaganda machine governs by scaring people, scaring people from riding bus, taking a train, smallpox, flying plane, going to courts, walking to federal offices, scaring from making phone calls or surf the internet. Psychologically scared people obey authority and succumb to its omnipotent rein of terror who rules them by scaring them into the total submission.
Why the misnomer “War on Terror” should be over? War on terror not only actually terrorized the world, Muslim World in particular; but also forced us to internalized the concept in every day life. We see the world through the dark glasses that Bush, Cheney, and all who wrote “The Project for New American Century “ for us way before 911 and declared that we need an “accident like Pearl Harbor” to make American follow their scheme.
Obama simply can not accomplish change unless make his declaration of Independence from Bush’s war on terror. If he does not declare the end of the War on Terror, there would be millions who follow the hate mongers like Sean Hannity, Glen Back, Rush Limbogh and the host of talk radio and Fox news who would use this out dated concept to derail any and all his policies.
We have to declare to the world that we are sorry just the previous administration lied to the public to advance its agenda of Invading Iraq. Collin Powel lied blatantly to the United Nation about weapons of mass destruction. More than four thousands Americans have lost their lives in addition to more than 30 thousands seriously injured all for a lie. We are still in Afghanistan killing Resistance Frot and naming them Taliban. Nobody has ever asked what these guys ever did to us. So far as the world knows there were never an Afghani on the 911 list of supposed Muslim on the planes! Why are we in Afghanistan ? Why are we killing Pakistanis, they never attacked the American soil. But, we do it under the Bush’s Flag of the “War on Terror”.
What is the War on Terror?
War on Terror is an abstract concept, it is not a nation that we are at war; but we are fighting a fabricated concept that is why Obama must end it now otherwise we would be chasing the shadow that we created and indoctrinate our children to believe in, for ever. We must tear down this misguided conceptual framework of “ War on terror” if we want peace and prosperity for ourselves and the world. You must ask yourself The answer seems to be no for an increasing number in the West who are weary over Afghanistan and Iraq or complacent from the absence of a major attack on the scale of 9/11.
The British Foreign Office has scrapped the phrase "war on terror" as inexact, inflammatory and counterproductive. U.S. Central Command has just dropped the term "long war" to describe the fight against radical Islam. Zbigneiw Brezizinsky , has called it a false idea. In reality the whole thing is a “make-believe” world that Bush administration fabricated so the public accept his plan invasion of Iraq! No one has ever confessed, or systematically related to the 911 after five years are torture we still do not know what happened in 911, who plan it how it was financed, where and how these men communicated and finally how they executed it! Just like the normal crime investigation who planned it and who was the beneficiary of the crime! For all we know the beneficiary of the crime were the owner of World trade center, who pulled down the building number 7, Israeli Security and X-Ray machine industries, the US Military and Cheney’s Halli- burton, Carlyle, Black Cat , every body else was a loser.
The Crime of the Century remain the least investigated crime in history which except the fabricated utterances of Bush administration we have no evidence, no confession, no claim and no conviction on the real criminals who conspired and executed such a well organized special Ops plan.
The People who are being held in Gitmo, are still being held without charges that can withstand even a military defense attorney‘s cross-examination. All those who tortured the hostages in Gitmo must now face the full force of international law for crime against humanity. As Obama declared we don’t torture and consequently his justice department must prosecute the criminals who ordered torture.
Prosecuting the torturers would clean our souls from crime against humanity ‘ would restore our international stature and would declare the end of War on Terror. It is by facing this realization that we finally leave the rein of terror alone and start a new era of peace and prosperity.
An influential book making the rounds - "Overblown: How Politicians and the Terrorism Industry Inflate National Security Threats, and Why We Believe Them" - argues that the threat from al-Qaida is vastly exaggerated.
How many Plane Al Quaeda has hijacked? none. How many time its agents were caught boarding planes?, None! How many times, they have attacked us in the US? None!
How many Islamic charities that we banned did actually worked for Al Queada? None!
How many times we caught anyone in our Courtrooms entrances by X-Ray ? None!
Nobody has come to our soil and attacked us? Then, instead of waging “War on Terror” we should prosecute any and all persons who violated the law and forced us to believe that torture is right, Pre-emptive strike is correct and lying to invade Iraq was juts fine! These are the criminals who have destroyed our economy by an illegal war and brought shame to America, not Muslims who loved us and Islam that is a religion of peace.
January 27, 2009 4:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
It will be interesting to see what Conyers does if Rove ignores the subpoena. If he does nothing he will look like an ass.
Can he send U S Marshals or the House Sgt at Arms to go pick him up?
What will Conyers do, what CAN he do?
January 27, 2009 9:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
But if the Marshalls or the Sgt at Arms showed up at Rove's house, could they get to the front door? It's entirely feasible that Rove has hired his own private guards, Blackwater for instance. He certainly feels sufficiently entitled to do such a thing.
January 27, 2009 11:14 AM | Reply | Permalink