The Justice Department provided the Senate Judiciary Committee with a SINGLE E-Mail Wednesday in response to a subpoena for the e-mails of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove related to the firing last year of eight U.S. attorneys.
I am actually surprised this is not more upsetting to people, that to this administration a subpoena from Congress can be looked at just as quaint as treaties and was simply a middle finger in the face on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
On May 2, 2007 Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy sent a subpoena for all e-mails from White House adviser Karl Rove that relate to the firings of eight U.S. attorneys.
"Attached please find a subpoena compelling the Department by May 15 to produce any and all emails and attachments to emails to, from, or copied to Karl Rove related to the Committee's investigation into the preservation of prosecutorial independence and the Department of Justice's politicization of the hiring and firing and decision-making of United States Attorneys, from any (1) White House account, (2) Republican National Committee account, or (3) other account, in the possession, custody or control of the Department of Justice"
Here are three paragraphs combined together from the article about the ONE SINGLE Email:
The e-mail was sent Feb. 28, 2007, by J. Scott Jennings, an aide in Rove's White House shop, to what appears to be a Rove e-mail account linked to the Republican National Committee. It described a telephone call Jennings received that day from Steve Bell, chief of staff to Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., in which Jennings said Bell flagged a news conference to be given the same day by former U.S. attorney David Iglesias. The e-mail warned that Iglesias supposedly would say during the news conference that he was contacted by lawmakers who urged him to deliver indictments in a case before last November's election, and that his failure to do so led to his being asked to resign.
Instead of asking the RNC or White House to turn over anything, the committee could have just asked Greg Palast to copy the Rove emails that were sent to him! Brad Blog has a great exclusive from Greg Palast from Tuesday worth checking out!
The subpoena deadline was Tuesday afternoon so Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter sent a letter to the Attorney General Alberto Gonzales demanding the e-mails and giving Justice until 10 a.m. today to respond.
Their arrogance could not be shown any bolder than by this move... (1) ONE SINGLE email as their response to the demand of all e-mails from White House adviser Karl Rove that relate to the firings of eight U.S. attorneys.
Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter need to put out a statement that stonewalling like this will not be tolerated.