Rove a No Show on the Hill, Bush's Call

Former White House adviser Karl Rove, the man once dubbed "Bush's Brain," didn't show up - despite a congressional subpoena - to a hearing today about allegations of political pressure at Bush's Justice Department.

It turns out, President Bush himself directed Rove to snub the subpoena.

Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, sent a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers yesterday, saying Rove would not be at today's hearing since he is "immune from compelled Congressional testimony" because of his position as a former immediate adviser to the president and because the subject matter has to do with issues that went on during his tenure in the White House.

"Although I know you would prefer otherwise, Mr. Rove is simply not free to take a position inconsistent with that asserted by the president," Luskin wrote. "The White House has reaffirmed the Executive Branch position that immediate Presidential advisers have immunity in this situation and has directed Mr. Rove not to appear."

The July 9 letter from the White House to Luskin, telling Rove not to appear, was written by Bush counsel Fred Fielding and can also be found here. It says:

"Mr. Rove is not required to appear in response to the Committee's subpoena. Accordingly, the President has directed him not to do so."

AP says Rep. Linda Sanchez, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law that called Rove, ruled with backing from fellow panel Democrats that Rove's claim of immunity was invalid - perhaps the first step toward holding him in contempt for refusing to cooperate.

Rove was the only witness scheduled to appear. But his chair at the table remained empty, and AP reports a handful of protesters sitting behind it called for the political strategist to be arrested. The House has voted to hold two of President Bush's confidants - Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten - in contempt for failing to cooperate with its inquiry into the U.S. attorneys firings.

Lawmakers subpoenaed Rove in May to force him to talk about whether he was involved in prosecutors' decisions to pursue cases against Democratic politicians or in the attorneys scandal.

On July 3, Sanchez, D-Calif., and Conyers, D-Mich., responded to a July 1 letter from Luskin, which said Rove wouldn't appear. Luskin again offered to make Rove available for an off-the-record interview, without an oath, but only about the matter involving former Alabama Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman.

"We want to make clear that the subcommittee will convene as scheduled and expects Mr. Rove to appear, and that a refusal to appear in violation of the subpoena could subject Mr. Rove to contempt proceedings, including statutory contempt under federal law and proceedings under the inherent contempt authority of the House of Representatives," Conyers and Sánchez said in their letter.

Siegelman, who is out on bail, was convicted on corruption charges in 2006, and claims Rove encouraged the DOJ to pursue the case against him. He is appealing his conviction and seven-year prison sentence for accepting a bribe from HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy.

The Birmingham News reports that the DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility confirmed in a July 3 letter to Siegelman lawyer Vince Kilborn that the office was reviewing allegations that the case against Siegelman was politically motivated. The letter asked Kilborn and Siegelman to provide any information that might be useful. Kilborn wants the DOJ to search for e-mails, phone records and other documents to determine whether there was communication between Rove and decision makers in the department about the case.

"I would trust documents much more than I would Karl Rove's denials," Kilborn told the newspaper.

Kilborn said the office also should seek documents regarding U.S. Attorney Leura Canary's decision to step aside from the Siegelman investigation. She is married to Bill Canary, a former Republican political consultant and ally of Republican Gov. Bob Riley. Kilborn says the DOJ has refused to release documents concerning Canary's recusal.

"There's an awful lot of black smoke concerning the case against Governor Siegelman," Kilborn said. "We know the camel's nose got under the tent ... We know politics got into the Justice Department."