Rally Round Karl Rove, Dems? He's Facing Subpoena, Valerie Plame, and Military 'Analyst' Scandal Troubles

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
by Christine Bowman

Can Democrats at least agree to distrust Karl Rove?

^{ABC News Photo}

I'm always looking for something that can unite Democrats. Need I look further than Karl Rove? Could he be our surrogate uniter, as George W. Bush prepares to ride off (in a helicopter) into the Texas sunset and the history books?

Karl Rove is among the most culpable of Bush Administration insiders. Pretty much everyone gives him credit or blame for bringing the Bush administration into power in 2000 (not by himself, granted), and for keeping Bush there in 2004. So what's on Karl's plate now?

1. Well, Valerie Plame is still saying Karl Rove was involved in outing her as a CIA agent in order to smear her husband Joe Wilson when he dared to punch holes in the administration's rationale for the Iraq war (WMDs). Here's a report on her effort to appeal that case, keeping Karl in the proverbial hot seat:

Ex-CIA agent Valerie Plame has begun an attempt to resurrect a lawsuit against officials in the Bush administration, among them Vice-President Dick Cheney.

She accuses them of plotting to leak her identity in retaliation for her husband's criticism of Iraq war policy.

Move to resurrect CIA leak case [1] (BBC)

2. Another legal nightmare for Karl concerns the ongoing scandal regarding the politicization of the US attorneys and the Department of Justice. That's the scandal that rid Washington of Alberto Gonzales, of course.

Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman thinks Rove helped railroad him into a jail sentence. As Dan Froomkin wrote last week in The Washington Post:

"On the subject of the possibly politically-motivated prosecution of a former Democratic official, for instance, [Karl Rove]'s been all over the media, vaguely denying involvement. There is, however, one thing that Rove avoids at all cost: being forced to answer a direct question -- especially under oath."

Ben Evans writing for AP last week explained:

"Committee Democrats are investigating whether Rove and Republican appointees at the Justice Department influenced Siegelman's prosecution to kill his chances for re-election. It is part of a broader inquiry into whether U.S. attorneys were fired for not aggressively pursuing cases against Democrats."

What Karl Rove Fears Most [2] (Washington Post)
[3]

Ben Evans' May 13 article indicates Karl now has decided he is willing to answer the Judiciary Committee's questions in writing, but he still balks at direct questioning or being sworn in under oath before Congress.
Why does that trouble you, Karl? Are you afraid of the House Judiciary Committee and Rep. John Conyers?

Rove had previously offered to discuss the Siegelman matter with committee members privately, without a transcript and not under oath.

Judiciary Democrats balked, saying it would not create a clear record and would not be sworn.

Rove refuses call to testify under oath [4] (Montgomery Advertiser)

If the Tuscaloosa (AL) News editorial board is right, Karl is no minor player in the Don Siegelman case. As they write:

The most notable administration figure to thus escape sworn testimony is Bush adviser Karl Rove, who was pinpointed by a former Republican operative in Alabama as the mastermind behind the successful Siegelman prosecution. Rove has denied the allegation but has dodged calls to testify before the committee under oath.

Let judiciary hear Bush's advisers [5] (Tuscaloosa News)

This duly elected Democratic governor has done jail time and faces up to 7 years in prison -- possibly because Rove and other operatives targeted him for the politics of personal destruction? That's worse than what the political operatives dished out to Bill Clinton, in the day, isn't it?

3. Glenn Greenwald at Salon also argues that Karl Rove was involved in the military analysts scandal. That's the story about private Pentagon briefings for select generals whom they then sent off to "analyze" military news using the Pentagon's talking points. Greenwald posts some of the newly released documents in the case that reference "Karl":

"I think it's fair to call this "confirmation" that Rove was involved in the military analysts program."

Was Karl Rove involved in the military analyst program? [6] (Salon)

Despite all the serious legal and ethical situations in which Karl Rove is an important figure, he has been merrily offering his electoral analysis and advice all over the mainstream corporate media. One has to wonder, how much are they paying him? And why? And will their legal teams help defend him if nagging questions don't melt away? Maybe Karl's working so hard now so that he will be able to pay for all the legal help he knows he'll be needing?

Since resigning as Deputy Chief of Staff at the White House in August 2007, Karl got a gig at Fox News, for starters. No surprise that:

That Pundit on Fox News? An Upstart Named Rove [7] (NY Times)

On Fox News, Karl recently offered his unsolicited advice to Barack Obama, as follows:

Any move by Mr. Obama to declare victory before the last of the Democratic primaries in June, Mr. Rove said, would alienate Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s wing of the party. “That’s a mistake,” he said. “That just is rubbing the loser’s nose in it. And a lot of those supporters will remember it by November.”

Obama's press secretary Bill Burton asked himself, in response: