Siegelman To White House Counsel: Don't Compromise With Rove

One of the likely victims of potential Bush White House lawbreaking is urging President Barack Obama not to compromise with Karl Rove as a means of compelling him to testify before Congress.

Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, who was arrested on corruption charges alleged to be politically-motivated, offered a critical reaction to news that Obama's chief counsel, Greg Craig, was considering cutting a deal with Rove in exchange for his testimony.

"This is not a matter involving civil damages. It is a matter of high crimes, abuse of power, the subversion of our country's constitution and of our individual rights and liberties," Siegelman wrote the Huffington Post. "There should be no deal cut with Karl Rove that would provide him with any immunity whatsoever. There is too much at stake. U.S. Attorneys were fired because they wouldn't take on political cases and the DOJ was used as a political weapon to destroy people Karl Rove wanted out of the way. For Rove not to be held accountable means others in the future will feel more free to abuse power.

"The U.S. Supreme Court has made it clear that Congress has the right to get the testimony it needs when investigating a criminal matter. It is equally clear that executive privilege protects advice given to the President if it involves matters of military or diplomatic secrets.

"Rove, therefore, has no place to hide when it comes to questions of his abuse of the Department of Justice."

Late last week, Craig put out a statement encouraging Rove and Congress to reach a deal that would be "sympathetic to those who want to find out what happened" without damaging the "institution of the presidency."

Such an arrangement could mean granting Rove immunity in exchange for candidness -- something Siegelman opposes. But it could also simply be an acknowledgment that executive privilege continues to apply to certain topics and not others, saving Rove from discussing more sensitive matters while forcing him to be forthcoming on other topics.

If the latter is the case, Siegelman should feel a bit of relief. In an interview with The Raw Story, Rove's lawyer, Robert Luskin, said that his client did not appear to be protected by executive privilege from testifying on his alleged ties to the "Siegelman matter."

"The only basis that Rove has ever declined to appear has been the White House claim of immunity for senior advisers to the president and executive privilege," said Robert Luskin. "I do think that it's clearer now that the Siegelman matter falls outside the scope of the former claim and, on that basis, I offered to have Rove appear on this matter."

UPDATE: Siegelman responds to Luskin's statement that executive privilege is not in play when it comes Rove's testimony on his case.

Legal positions of Kar Rove... Reminds me of the song the sheriff sang in " best Little Wore House in Texas" ..."Now you see me , Now you don't"

Rove will never show up under oath and tell the truth.

We all need to give Congressman Conyers encouragement to stay strong, No deals, No immunity, No executive privilege for Rove.

Comments

[deanimal]

Start him on Aricept right now.

[rizvisa1]

Oh please Karl continue to exert that priv. I wish SCOTUS would decide on that. If it goes one way, well then "Hello Alexrod" and if not then 'Hello exposure". Karl is one of the few people in current time that successfully destroyed a lot. I have an idea, since Karl have so many state secrets that cannot be exposed, how about a small cage in the paradise of on earth GITMO for karl

[renatam]

No immunity for Karl Rove. NONE.

[fakeHuman]

Simply posting here calling for Rove to be jailed is not good enough. Contact Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, Jr. via the email contact form on his website. Tell him not to fold on this. Tell him Rove must be held accountable.

http://conyers.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.OnlineContactForm

Or go the extra mile - here's the full list of the House Judiciary Committee with links to each of their websites:

http://judiciary.house.gov/about/members.html

If any of them are your representative, I urge you to contact them too.

[deanimal]

Thankyou

[JZ735]

Good point...make all that hot air useful.

[dclasky]

Thank you ..... Power to the People!

[dotmafia]

I don't recall.

I can't recall.

I don't recall.

(known as the Gonzales Maneuver)

[greysells2]

Let's call it a "Gonzo", for short. We all know what it means.Acting mentally deficient when he had all his marbles together and decided to roll the dice.

[MJinCanada]

No, no. Gonzo is an honourable Muppet! Please do not besmirch his name.

[stuporman]

I have no independent recollection of these events (the Reagan Maneuver)

[babyboomerorig]

If Rove isn't going to claim Executive Priviledge (sp), how many times will we hear "I don't recall."?

[swift goat pet for truth]

To make sure he tells the truth, he should be water boarded.

He does not think it is torture, so its OK.

[PatA]

Wouldn't Bubba love to have a new chubby little boyfriend in cell 102 A?

[MaximMaximus]

I guess Karl Rove's personality flaws originate from his disappointment over his stepfather who, after some years of stability, left him and his mother and decided to pursue a gay life style. His biological father was a poor excuse of a father to begin with. I think his resentment of decency, and his thirst for despotic power originates from those traumas.

[swift goat pet for truth]

I prefer to think of him as a poor excuse for a human being who thinks about only power for himself to the detriment of the rest of the human race.

[Token12ga]

Excuses, excuses,............................

[MaximMaximus]

I am not making any excuse for him. He is indeed a poor excuse of a human being. My point was that he comes from very defective stock -as expected.

[MaximMaximus]

I can think of only one place where Karl Rove should be placed. It's a federal prison. Charges? Fro treason to outing a CIA agent, the list is well populated.

[Tom Payned]

I expect the Obama administration will cut a deal with Rove, more out of a sense that he wants people see him as paying attention to the economy rather than payback. Which as we learned during the impeachment of Clinton, backfires on the party seeking payback. And at that time, the economy was strong.

Does Rove deserve immunity? No. Should he benefit from the recklessness of his puppet's incompetence which has led to the awful economy, useless wars, decrease in our standing in the world? NO.

However, sadly he will.

If Obama allows anything, it will be similar to what Leahy has suggested, a truth and reconciliation commission.

A similar process took place in South Africa after the end of apartheid and probably kept that country from plunging into a blood letting of the majority over the minority.

If it worked there, it's hard to make the case it won't work here.

[Antonio518]

"to find out what happened" without damaging the "institution of the presidency." damaging the presidency? Rove, Bush Cheney Rumsfeld et al have damaged the institution of the presidency almost beyond repair. The only way the institution of the presidency can be redeemed is by hauling all these roaches out into the light and making them squak. They MUST be exposed, and let the chips fall where they may. If Bush, Cheney and Rove dont go to jail, if we dont know exactly what happened (Did Bush protect Bin Laden?) no one, not foreigners, not Americans, can ever respect the presidency again until these shameful stains are washed from the body politic. The spectacle of narrow minded, stupid rich white men scarfing up the national treasury while Americans look through garbage cans for something to eat, the emotionally retarded macho military boys bombing civilians as if they were at a video game while mothers gather up body parts of their children who minutes before were playing in the yard in Fallujah, Kabul or Gaza are facts and images which will forever burn in our national consciousness.

[MsDoc]

Thank you. Sometimes we try to shine too dim a light on what they actually caused to occur.

[AddyGmom]

kaRo needs to go to jail --- he's obese. but give him communual shower privileges.

[AddyGmom]

Ohhh. that sounds tacky.

I mean that by being in jail, he may lose weight. Not that being obese garners a jail sentence. Sorry if I offended anyone.

[greysells2]

soap, anyone?

[JFaye]

I recall an interview with Mr. Siegelman's daughter on 60 Minutes and the disbelief that one human being could do such a thing to another resulting in the latter going to prison. Shortly thereafter, Dan Abrams as well Keith Olberman continued the conversation. Perhaps the public needs reminding of what transpired and how Karl Rove orchestrated, rather manipulated others to land Mr. Siegelman in prison.

Absolutely, there are legal consequences Mr. Rove and others must face or else this atrocity will certainly repeat itself and perhaps by the devil's kin. President Obama's administration cannot become a party to what the Bush/Cheney administration set in motion by continuing to grace Karl Rove to break the law.

[abigail1]

what happened to this man makes me sick, and he's right, no deals for Karl Rove.