Rove Privilege Claim Intact, Spokesman Says
Karl Rove’s resignation as deputy chief of staff won’t affect the administration’s assertion of executive privilege before a Senate committee seeking his testimony on the firings of nine U.S. attorneys.
“The privilege assertions remain intact,” White House spokesman Tony Fratto told the New York Times.
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee said they would continue to press for Rove’s testimony, the Washington Post reports.
“Karl Rove’s resignation will not stop our inquiry into the firings of the U.S. attorneys. He has every bit as much of a legal obligation to reveal the truth once he steps down as he does today,” said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).
Experts were divided on whether Rove was likely to waive the privilege claim after he steps down. Charles Tiefer, a constitutional professor at the University of Baltimore, pointed out that Oliver North changed course after his resignation and testified in the Iran-Contra hearings.
