Six weeks ago, Sen. Chuck [tag]Schumer[/tag] (D-N.Y.) seemed to immediately appreciate the significance of the prosecutor purge scandal. He told reporters, “What happened here doesn’t sound like business as usual,” Schumer said. “Even the hiring and firing of our top federal prosecutors has become infused and corrupted with political, rather than prudent, considerations.” He vowed not to let this story go.
I think he meant it. From a press release issued by Schumer’s office this afternoon:
In light of new reports that [tag]Karl Rove[/tag] played a role in the firing of U.S. Attorneys, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today asked the Judiciary Committee to call on Karl Rove to testify. Reports over the weekend reveal that New Mexico State Republican Chairman Allen Weh spoke with Rove about U.S. Attorney David Iglesias and that Rove spoke with both Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and White House Counsel Harriet Miers about Weh’s complaints.
“The more we learn, the more it seems that people at high levels in the White House have been involved in the U.S. Attorney purge,” Schumer said. “Recent disclosures reveal that Rove talked to the NM State Party Chair Allen Weh before any public announcement of the firing was made and that Rove talked about Mr. Igleisas to the Attorney General and the White House Counsel. While the White House states not incorrectly that someone in Karl Rove’s position might get complaints about U.S. Attorneys, it is almost unheard of for a U.S. Attorney to be fired shortly after such discussions occur, when that US Attorney had received highly favorable reviews and ratings…. We will get to the bottom of this.”
Call it a hunch, but if Rove is called to testify, and he hires counsel to help him through his testimony, his lawyer will strongly urge Rove to tell the truth. If he’s unclear about that, Rove can always call his buddy Scooter about the consequences.
For that matter, Rove may get multiple chances to share his perspective on the matter — the House Judiciary Committee wants to chat with him, too.
And as long as we’re on the subject, it’s worth adding that the estimable [tag]Paul Krugman[/tag] took on Rove for his role in the purge scandal, as well.
Nobody is surprised to learn that the Justice Department was lying when it claimed that recently fired federal prosecutors were dismissed for poor performance. Nor is anyone surprised to learn that White House political operatives were pulling the strings.
What is surprising is how fast the truth is emerging about what Alberto Gonzales, the attorney general, dismissed just five days ago as an “overblown personnel matter.”
Sources told Newsweek that the list of prosecutors to be fired was drawn up by Mr. Gonzales’s chief of staff, “with input from the White House.” And Allen Weh, the chairman of the New Mexico Republican Party, told McClatchy News that he twice sought Karl Rove’s help — the first time via a liaison, the second time in person — in getting David Iglesias, the state’s U.S. attorney, fired for failing to indict Democrats. “He’s gone,” he claims Mr. Rove said.
After that story hit the wires, Mr. Weh claimed that his conversation with Mr. Rove took place after the decision to fire Mr. Iglesias had already been taken. Even if that’s true, Mr. Rove should have told Mr. Weh that political interference in matters of justice is out of bounds; Mr. Weh’s account of what he said sounds instead like the swaggering of a two-bit thug.
I know the Republicans will scream bloody murder if Dems subpoena Rove, but it would likely be the most entertaining political theater in years. And who knows, we might actually learn something about an important administration scandal, too.