Conyers Regains Bite

More change I can believe in:

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) subpoenaed former White House senior adviser Karl Rove, a sign that Democrats are not letting go of investigations the Bush administration stonewalled.

The subpoena requires Rove to testify regarding his role in the Bush administration’s politicization of the Justice Department, including the firings of nine U.S. attorneys and the prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman.

Democrats want Rove to appear at a deposition on Monday, Feb. 2. He has claimed that the executive privilege protections from testifying extend to former presidential advisers, but a federal judge has rejected that argument.

“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,” said Conyers.

Noting that the change in administration may affect the legal arguments available to Rove in this long-running dispute, Conyers added, “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.”

I’m still not resting until I see that frogmarch.

Author: BooMan

Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.