As you all know, I started calling DOJ last Friday, asking them whether, as Fred Fielding suggested, they had advised the White House that Karl Rove’s duties include witch hunts of Democrats.
We have been further advised that because Mr. Rove was an immediate presidential adviser and because the Committee seeks to question him regarding matters that arose during his tenure and relate to his official duties in that capacity, Mr. Rove is not required to appear in response to the Committee’s subpoena. Accordingly, the President has directed him not to do so.
Apparently, DOJ Deputy Public Affairs Director Peter Carr (whose phone number is 202-616-2777) received the request. Yet, surprise surprise, I have not had a response to my question.
From which I am assuming that Mr. Carr refuses to say whether DOJ actually told the White House, this year, with regards to HJC’s May subpoena of Karl Rove, that the subpoena pertained to his "official duties." I find that mighty curious, given the fact that the White House Counsel, Fred Fielding, strongly implied that DOJ had given the White House that advice. Is Fred Fielding deliberately mis-representing to Congress the advice he has gotten from DOJ? Because that sure sounds like either an ethical or legal problem, to have the White House Counsel making such representations if they are not in fact true. Especially since Fielding suggests that DOJ really reviewed this and decided that making resource allocations in PIN, channeling oppo research on Democrats to DOJ, and talking openly about having Patrick Fitzgerald fired to protect RNC donor Bob Kjellander from investigation were part of Rove’s "official duties."
Well, just to be sure, I called Fielding’s office. Yup, not holding my breath there, either, but you’ll be the first to know if I do get a response. But it is sure beginning to look like Fred Fielding decided, on his own, that Rove’s official duties included witch hunts of Democrats.
Or maybe he decided that because Bush told him to?