NYT: E-Mail Shows Rove’s Role in Fate of Prosecutors

[ProSense]

E-Mail Shows Rove’s Role in Fate of Prosecutors

Justice Department e-mail messages reveal Karl Rove’s role in selecting and dismissing federal prosecutors.

By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and JIM RUTENBERG
Published: March 29, 2007

WASHINGTON, March 28 — Almost every Wednesday afternoon, advisers to President Bush gather to strategize about putting his stamp on the federal courts and the United States attorneys’ offices.

The group meets in the Roosevelt Room and includes the aides to the White House counsel, the chief of staff, the attorney general and Karl Rove, a top adviser to the president, who tries to attend himself. Each of them signs off on every nomination.

Mr. Rove takes charge of the politics. As caretaker to the administration’s conservative allies, Mr. Rove relays their concerns, according to several participants in the Wednesday meetings. Especially with regard to United States attorneys, he also manages the horse trading.

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Mr. Rove’s role has put him in the center of a Senate inquiry into the firing of eight United States attorneys. Democrats and a few Republicans have raised questions about whether the prosecutors were being replaced to impede or jump-start investigations for partisan goals.

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[L. Coyote]

1. Difficult to keep up with this story today. Here are a ton of posts, links....

Email-Gate FACTS: Felons, georgewbush.com, gwb43.com , et. al.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x523978

This article is huge. However it does not mention this:

Congressional Letter to Gonzales. "Mr. Rove was himself apparently still being investigated"

An important point not yet much mentioned, Rove was himself being investigated during the US Attorney firings. Any relationships??

"In light of the unprecedented nature of the appointment, we are especidly
interested in understanding the role played by Karl Rove. In particular, what role
did Karl Rove, with whom Griffin was closely associated, play in the decision to
appoint Griffin?"

"Given that Mr. Rove was himself apparently still being investigated by a U.S.
Attorney in June of 2006, it would be extremely untoward if he were at the same time
leading the charge to oust a sitting U.S. Attorney and install his own former aid."

These questions go to the heart of the public's confidence in the fair
administration of justice. Once appointed, U.S. Attorneys, perhaps more than any other
public servant, must be above politics and beyond reproach; they must be seen to enforce
the rule of law without fear or favor."

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The article makes these excellent points:

“There is an issue of intrigue, and for better or worse, that surrounds Karl Rove,” said Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. “It is in the president’s interest and the country’s interest to have it dispelled or verified, but let’s hear it from him,” Mr. Specter said.

......

Mr. Rove acts as a conduit to the White House for complaints from Republican officials around the country, including gripes about federal prosecutors.

[ProSense]

2. Excellent. Thank you. n/t