Print
Aug 2, 2007 4:55 pm US/Eastern
Bush Bars Rove From Testifying In Senate Probe
White House Invokes Executive Privilege To Prevent Testimony Over The Firing Of Federal Prosecutors
WASHINGTON (CBS) ―
-
-
Bush's move to bar Karl Rove from testifying sets up a possible court showdown between the White House and Democratic lawmakers, who have sought to force several Bush aides to testify about the firing last year of nine federal prosecutors.(File)
Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
The White House has invoked executive privilege and instructed President Bush's top adviser Karl Rove not to cooperate with a Senate investigation into the firing of nine U.S. attorneys.
Rove's subpoena instructed him to appear at the Judiciary Committee Thursday.
White House counsel Fred F. Fielding told the Judiciary Committee by letter that, as an immediate presidential adviser, Rove is "immune from compelled congressional testimony about matters that arose during his tenure and that relate to his official duties in that capacity," the Washington Post reported Thursday.
White House Counsel Fred Fielding has consistently said that top presidential aides, present and past, are immune from subpoenas, and has declared the documents sought off-limits under executive privilege.
But, the panel did have one succes when White House political aide J. Scott Jennings appeared Thursday. The Rove underling made clear he was appearing only to signal goodwill and to avoid a contempt of Congress citation.
"I will be unable at this time to answer any questions concerning White House consideration, deliberations or communications related to the U.S. attorneys matter," Jennings told the panel. He made that assertion after initially noting at the outset that he is only 29 years old.
The House Judiciary Committee approved a contempt citation against two other Bush confidants, Joshua B. Bolten, chief of staff, and Harriet E. Miers, former White House counsel. The House is expected to vote on the citation this fall, but the Justice Department has said it won't prosecute the two.
The controversy over the firings has grown into a larger dispute between Congress and the White House over the credibility of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales. Lawmakers have questioned whether Gonzales testified truthfully about the government's secret surveillance program.
Bush met with congressional leaders yesterday to press for action on a proposal to expand the surveillance program before Congress goes on recess at week's end.
The administration is pushing to update the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, to allow surveillance without a warrant of terror suspects who are overseas. The proposal is designed to fix what the White House says is a glaring problem: missing foreign intelligence that could protect the country against terrorist attacks.
The Senate's Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, said he saw bipartisan willingness to get the legislation done before Congress recesses.
The White House responded with measured optimism. "I think they understand and appreciate the importance," Bush spokesman Tony Snow said of Democratic leaders. "We will see."
On spending, the Democrats and Bush appeared to get nowhere.
Bush has hinted at or threatened vetoes against most of the 12 annual spending bills for the next budget year, which begins Oct. 1. The differences between Bush and Congress involve $23 billion in funding -- a gap Democrats call small, and the White House portrays as wasteful.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
