Congress to Rove: No Justification for Refusing to Testify on Siegelman Case

Posted by Ali Frick, Think Progress at 4:58 AM on May 15, 2008.

Today, House Judiciary Committee leaders sent a letter to Karl Rove’s laywer, Robert Luskin, rejecting Rove’s offer to answer questions on his involvement in the Don Siegelman prosecution and other issues in writing. They wrote that, considering Rove’s willingness to speak to the media on the subject, “we can see no justification for his refusal to speak on the record to the Committee”:

As our previous letters have made clear, the Siegelman case is a principal reason for our invitation to Mr. Rove. But as we have also explained, that issue cannot be separated from the broader concerns about politicization within the Department and the U.S. Attorney firings, and Mr. Rove has made on-the-record comments to the media about all these interrelated matters. […]

Since you indicate Mr. Rove is now willing to submit written answers to questions, which by definition would be recorded in a manner similar to a transcript, we do not understand why he would not submit to providing transcribed answers to live questions, as he has done in media interviews.

In April, Luskin had indicated that Rove would testify if Congress subpoenaed him. By the end of the month, Luskin backed away from the pledge, claiming he had been taken out of context.