E-mails ‘implicate Rove’ in sackings
E-mails ‘implicate Rove’ in sackings
By Brooke Masters in New York
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: March 15 2007 20:35 | Last updated: March 15 2007 23:44
Congressional Democrats turned up the heat in their investigation of what they are calling a political purge of senior prosecutors amid allegations that Karl Rove, the top political aide to President George W. Bush, was involved in the early plans for a mass sacking of US attorneys.
According to internal White House e-mails reported by ABC News, Mr Rove first discussed getting rid of all 93 US attorneys in January 2005, putting him on the spot at the genesis of a plan that led to the firing of eight US attorneys late last year.
Alberto Gonzales, the attorney-general, who is now facing calls for his resignation, also seriously considered the mass removal plan, according to ABC’s version of another e-mail. The White House on Thursday night confirmed that Mr Gonzales had considered several options including firing 15-20 per cent of US attorneys.
The e-mails, which are due to be turned over to Congress on Friday, leaked out on a day when the Senate judiciary committee authorised subpoenas of five senior Justice Department officials, but put off a decision on whether to compel Mr Rove and Harriet Miers, the former White House counsel, to testify.
Tony Snow, White House spokesman, said Fred Fielding, who replaced Ms Miers, was considering whether to allow the White House aides to testify voluntarily.
Justice Department officials initially described the sackings as performance-related, but evidence has mounted that political considerations were a factor and some of the ousted prosecutors were involved in sensitive corruption probes.
John Conyers, who is leading the House investigation of the sackings, said: “The notion that the president’s top political adviser was so deeply embroiled in this decision is the final nail in the coffin of the administration’s contention that this was done for performance-related issues, and not politics of the lowest kind.”
Mr Rove defended the firings at a speech in Alabama, calling the controversy “all politics,” Dow Jones reported.
Mr Gonzales is facing pressure to resign from Democrats and a few Republicans, in part because these e-mails and Justice Department communications released earlier this week appeared to contradict Congressional testimony he and his aides gave about the sackings.
The e-mails called into question the department’s claim that it never intended to use the authority it received last year to install replacement US attorneys for long periods without Senate confirmation.
In a December e-mail, Kyle Sampson, the chief of staff to Mr Gonzales ousted on Monday, discusses using the new appointment authority to sidestep Senate objections to the selection of Tim Griffin, a protégé of Mr Rove, as top prosecutor in Arkansas.
Both the House and the Senate are considering legislation that would limit interim US attorneys to 120-day appointments.
By Brooke Masters in New York
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: March 15 2007 20:35 | Last updated: March 15 2007 23:44
Congressional Democrats turned up the heat in their investigation of what they are calling a political purge of senior prosecutors amid allegations that Karl Rove, the top political aide to President George W. Bush, was involved in the early plans for a mass sacking of US attorneys.
According to internal White House e-mails reported by ABC News, Mr Rove first discussed getting rid of all 93 US attorneys in January 2005, putting him on the spot at the genesis of a plan that led to the firing of eight US attorneys late last year.
Alberto Gonzales, the attorney-general, who is now facing calls for his resignation, also seriously considered the mass removal plan, according to ABC’s version of another e-mail. The White House on Thursday night confirmed that Mr Gonzales had considered several options including firing 15-20 per cent of US attorneys.
The e-mails, which are due to be turned over to Congress on Friday, leaked out on a day when the Senate judiciary committee authorised subpoenas of five senior Justice Department officials, but put off a decision on whether to compel Mr Rove and Harriet Miers, the former White House counsel, to testify.
Tony Snow, White House spokesman, said Fred Fielding, who replaced Ms Miers, was considering whether to allow the White House aides to testify voluntarily.
Justice Department officials initially described the sackings as performance-related, but evidence has mounted that political considerations were a factor and some of the ousted prosecutors were involved in sensitive corruption probes.
John Conyers, who is leading the House investigation of the sackings, said: “The notion that the president’s top political adviser was so deeply embroiled in this decision is the final nail in the coffin of the administration’s contention that this was done for performance-related issues, and not politics of the lowest kind.”
Mr Rove defended the firings at a speech in Alabama, calling the controversy “all politics,” Dow Jones reported.
Mr Gonzales is facing pressure to resign from Democrats and a few Republicans, in part because these e-mails and Justice Department communications released earlier this week appeared to contradict Congressional testimony he and his aides gave about the sackings.
The e-mails called into question the department’s claim that it never intended to use the authority it received last year to install replacement US attorneys for long periods without Senate confirmation.
In a December e-mail, Kyle Sampson, the chief of staff to Mr Gonzales ousted on Monday, discusses using the new appointment authority to sidestep Senate objections to the selection of Tim Griffin, a protégé of Mr Rove, as top prosecutor in Arkansas.
Both the House and the Senate are considering legislation that would limit interim US attorneys to 120-day appointments.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 9:25 AM
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