New Senate Subpoena, Hearing for Gonzales
Senate Judiciary Committee members want Karl Rove e-mails related to the investigation of the firings of eight federal prosecutors.
A new subpoena salvo has been fired by the Senate Judiciary Committee against U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in the ongoing investigation of the controversial firing of eight U.S. attorneys, among other ongoing political concerns.
The committee issued a subpoena (PDF) today demanding that the A.G. produce e-mails to and from presidential adviser Karl Rove concerning the firings, some allege were part of a political purge of top prosecutors perceived as not sufficiently loyal to the interests of President Bush.
Gonzales also was personally subpoenaed to testify before the committee May 15, which is the deadline for producing the documents as well.
“It is troubling that significant documents highly relevant to the committee’s inquiry have not been produced,” says a letter from Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., that accompanies the subpoena.
The White House says it is searching for the lost e-mails, but did not promise to turn any over to congressional investigators, according to this AP story.
The New York Times quotes a response by White House spokesman Tony Fratto. “I know they like to get headlines more than they like to get the facts, but if there’s still any interest in the facts up there, the easiest way is to simply accept our offer to have Karl and others in for interviews.”
