Rove Played Greater Role in Prosecutor Firings Than Previously Known

[Enrique]

Source: Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/30/AR2009073002023.html?hpid=topnews

Political adviser Karl Rove and other high-ranking figures in the Bush White House played a greater role than previously understood in the firing of federal prosecutors almost three years ago, according to e-mails obtained by The Washington Post, in a scandal that led to mass Justice Department resignations and an ongoing criminal probe.

The e-mails and new interviews with key participants reflect contacts among Rove, aides in the Bush political affairs office and White House lawyers about the dismissal of three of the nine U.S. attorneys fired in 2006: New Mexico's David C. Iglesias, the focus of ire from GOP lawmakers; Missouri's Todd Graves, who had clashed with one of Rove's former clients; and Arkansas's Bud Cummins, who was pushed out to make way for a Rove protege.

The documents and interviews provide new information about efforts by political aides in the Bush White House, for example, to push a former colleague as a favored candidate for one of the U.S. attorney posts. They also reflect the intensity of efforts by lawmakers and party officials in New Mexico to unseat the top prosecutor there. Rove described himself as merely passing along complaints by senators and state party officials to White House lawyers.

The e-mails emerged as Rove finished his second day of closed-door-testimony Thursday about the firings to the House Judiciary Committee. For years, Rove and former White House counsel Harriet Miers had rejected efforts by lawmakers to obtain their testimony and their correspondence about the issue, citing executive privilege. The House of Representatives sued, igniting a court fight that was resolved this year after discussions among lawyers for former president George W. Bush and President Obama.

(...)

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/30/AR2009073002023.html?hpid=topnews

[waiting for hope]

1. And nothing is going to be done

about this ... Frankly, it only saddens me to see more incriminating evidence come out against all of them for the numerous crimes that they committed because of the sinking feeling that nothing will be done.

[Dinger]

6. It's A Pattern. Evidence Found, . . Nothing Done (nt)

[merh]

7. conyers will write another stern letter, just you wait and see

x(

[flyarm]

22. pitiful, but you got me laughing here!! lol..

there goes the coffee all over the keyboard!
eom

[Enthusiast]

49. Don't know whether to laugh or cry. nt

[rhett o rick]

54. Coffee ok, vodka no. nm

[merh]

55. He'll use ALL CAPS!

and underline and bold and italics to show he means business.

[hootinholler]

29. No no the time for letters is over.

He will write A REPORT!

That'll show them!

-Hoot

[geckosfeet]

47. Yes yes. A SCATHING report.

[eilen]

74. Yes! A Scathing Report Expressing Grave Concerns....

and possibly Barely Concealed Outrage in Strong Language recommending Bold Procedural Changes ... that will promptly be ignored.

[LiberalLovinLug]

82. Scathing.....yes...and spelled out IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS..

...that DECORUM WAS BREACHED!...and if you ever try anything like this again boy....if you ever get another president elected and do the same thing....boy oh boy...you just wait....

and wait


and wait


yawn.

[lsewpershad]

52. So True

and so frustrating. This is the kind of sh.t that leads to apathy.

[TheEuclideanOne]

27. And in related news.....

The Earth is round....
2 + 2 = 4.....

For more information, see

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/obvious

[Doremus]

35. Thank you for expressing my thoughts so eloquently. n/t

[chervilant]

57. Wow...

We have here an ongoing push to hold Rove and his ilk accountable for their crimes. I've watched the continuous, onerous effort evolve, and I have every confidence that something is being done, as evidenced by these hearings.

Now, whether or not Rove does hard time for his crimes is another issue. You may have to be content with the knowledge that proof is gathering that Rove is a disgusting criminal. That may be all we get.

[defendandprotect]

2. New evidence . . . good . . .

[xchrom]

3. well -- some of us had a pretty good idea --

can't speak for those write stupid things like: 'Rove Played Greater Role in Prosecutor Firings Than Previously Known '

welcome to the real world.

[maglatinavi]

4. some had pretty good idea

Duh!

[HowHasItComeToThis]

5. DEAR DOJ, WHEN ARE YOU PURGING THE BUSH PLANTS FROM DOJ

THERE IS NO JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AS LONG AS A SINGLE ONE OF THEM IS LEFT.

[DCKit]

77. But, they're CHRISTIANS!

Sure they weren't as educated, experienced or qualified as the candidates who were turned down, but they have Gawd on their side.

Pu-leeze.

[fascisthunter]

8. just a matter of time for Rove

[No Elephants]

9. Rove protege = Rove's head of vote caging, who later worked for McCain Palin.

Griffin is his name. He denied vote caging.

He resigned after Conyers started investigating. (Not that there's anything wrog with that.)

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Vote_caging

http://digg.com/politics/Rove_Protege_U_S_Attorney_Tim_Griffin_Resigns

http://crooksandliars.com/2008/05/22/mccain-to-rely-on-rove-protege-for-opposition-research#comment-599250

[Brother Buzz]

26. Griffin denied vote caging until....

GeorgeWBush.org, an anti-bush satire site, discovered they had a "CATCH-ALL" MAILBOX full of interesting stuff and sent it to Conyers

http://2004.georgewbush.org/deadletteroffice/index.asp

OCTOBER, 2004: Recently, we at GeorgeWBush.org happened to notice that our mail server had a default "catch-all" mailbox, which for the past several months had been quietly gathering any and all e-mails addressed to @georgewbush.org. We felt the need to share.

10.29.2004 UPDATE: GeorgeWBush.org initially posted a select few highlights of the e-mails from its catch-all mailbox. But in response to overwhelming interest in this material, we have since dug back into the pile. You'll find today's newly posted e-mails in the YELLOW shaded boxes below. Also, the catch-all box has now been disabled, having been suddenly overwhelmed by thousands of spam and virus e-mails.

<snip>

-----Original Message-----
From: Tim Griffin - Research/Communications
Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2004 6:34 PM
To: [e-mail]; Lindy Landreaux - Political ; Miriam Moore - Research/Communications ; Victoria Newton - Research/Communications ; Shawn Reinschmiedt - Research/Communications ; [e-mail]; [e-mail]; [e-mail]
Subject: Re: caging

Thx
Tim Griffin
Research Director and
Deputy Communications Director
Republican National Committee
310 First Street, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
w:[phone]
f: [phone]
[e-mail]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kelly Porter
> To: Lindy Landreaux - Political ; Miriam Moore - Research/Communications ; Victoria Newton - Research/Communications ; Tim Griffin - Research/Communications ; Shawn Reinschmiedt - Research/Communications ; [e-mail] ; Stephen Shiver ; [e-mail]
> Sent: Thu Aug 26 18:12:49 2004
> Subject: caging
>
> Total as of today is 1834.
>
> Kelly
>
> ATTACHMENT: Caging-1.xls

<more>

[No Elephants]

48. I'm prettty sure he denied it after that too, but thanks for that post.

[leveymg]

10. Gee, I guess they kept a backup of those 8 million "erased" e-mails after all.

NEWSFLASH TO WAPO: Those of us at DU and Daily Kos and TPM Muckraker and Raw Story, et al., who were paying attention pretty much "previously understood" all of this (and more) three years ago.

Only the MSM is completely clueless that they didn't understand that Rove was running the US Attorney hiring and firing operations out of the White House political office. Stenographers.

[mod mom]

24. not to mention undermining our elections:

PROSECUTE THIS ASSHOLE!

[leveymg]

41. All I can say, he had better be singing his pointy little head off.

Otherwise, there's no excuse for his not wearing an orange jumpsuit to match those gold cufflinks. Same thing for the little gift from Black Jack sitting next to him.

[L. Coyote]

76. It all begins in Florida before the 2000 election, purging the Dems to tip the balance

and steal the presidency from President Al Gore.

[leveymg]

85. No doubt.

But, that wasn't the first stolen U.S. Presidential election. Karl was just playing by the old-school rules.

[L. Coyote]

75. When WA POst, et.al., reporters reseach these stories, they end up here --- years ago.

We DUers laid all this out in meticulous detail long ago.

Delimiting a search to only threads with my unique username:
Results 1 - 100 of about 763 from democraticunderground.com for: Rove scandal "L. Coyote"

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&as_q=Rove+scandal&as_epq=L.+Coyote&as_oq=&as_eq=&num=100

Topping the list a thread about a dKos diary, where the Rove scandals were also covered YEARS AGO:

Found: Rove's Playbook for Attorney Scandal - Democratic Underground
15 posts - 10 authors - Last post: Jun 7, 2007
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1060189

[leveymg]

86. There is no doubt that GOOGLE pays attention to DU

This place dominates discourse on certain topics.

[supernova]

11. This isn't news to anybody on DU, but

I am glad this is getting out in the general newssphere.

[No Elephants]

13. The "beer summit" is getting all the TV coverage.

[seafan]

12. These serpents just slithered out of the White House into the darkness.

Rove Played Greater Role in Prosecutor Firings Than Previously Known, July 30, 2009

.....

Responding to questions about another little-understood event, Rove told reporters in the interview this month that he had not seen a letter that Justice Department officials prepared and sent to the Senate on Feb. 23, 2007. The letter stated that "the department is not aware of Karl Rove playing any role in the decision to appoint Mr. Griffin" to a top job in Little Rock.

The Justice Department later retracted the statement, which the inspector general concluded was "misleading."

In the interview, Rove said that he had "nothing" to do with the letter. "I'm not even sure I was still there at that point." Rove did not leave the White House for six more months, in late August 2007.

But internal White House correspondence dating to two years earlier suggests that job prospects for Timothy Griffin, who had worked for Rove in the administration, were a hot topic of conversation. In a Feb. 11, 2005, e-mail, Rove wrote to deputy Sara Taylor: "Give him options. Keep pushing for Justice and let him decide. I want him on the team."Then White House counsel Miers e-mailed Taylor a month later, writing, "Sara, Karl asked me to forward you a list of locations where we may consider replacing the USAs..."

Rove himself suggested Little Rock, where Cummins was U.S. attorney, as a post for Griffin, reminding Miers in March 2005 that "that's where he's from." The next day, Sara Taylor forwarded some communications about Griffin to RNC chairman Ken Mehlman, who wrote, "let me know his reaction," according to the e-mails.

.....

Rove Aide Resigns (Sara Taylor), March 30, 2007

Maybe it's a coincidence.

White House political director Sara Taylor is out the door at the White House, according to Washington Wire. Taylor came up a number of times yesterday during the Kyle Sampson hearing as having worked closely with Sampson (along with another Karl Rove aide Scott Jennings) to install Rove's former aide Tim Griffin as the U.S. Attorney in eastern Arkansas.

"Barry Jackson, a longtime aide to Karl Rove, also is thought to be leaving soon.... All the departures appear to be more-or-less routine turnover," reports the Washington Wire.

Former Rove aide Sara Taylor becomes MSNBC pundit, March 20, 2008

Today, MSNBC brought on former White House political director Sara Taylor to talk about how right-wing groups plan to attack Sen. Barak Obama (D-IL) over his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Taylor was a top aide to Karl Rove and intimately involved in both the U.S. Attorney scandal and the politicization of federal agencies. The White House had originally blocked her from testifying to Congress, which had issued a subpoena for her appearance.

Sara Taylor dispatched to Florida Recount 2000 to create pinpoint tracking system for ballots



It's time to bag us some snakes.

[redqueen]

14. K&R

[thunder rising]

15. And just like before ... they will be back. Until they are jailed they will not stop

[Swede Atlanta]

16. I'm schocked......... :)

I am just shocked that Rove was so involved in this matter. Bush brought transparency and integrity to the White House. This must either be another charge trumped up by the Demoncrats or Rove was possessed by a liberal ghost.

[bjobotts]

17. Outing them is at least "something" but hardly enough being done.Gonzo is still paying a price

[bjobotts]

18. We should make sure as much exposure comes out as possible even if it doesn't result in prosecution

[HiyaEmerald Eyes]

19. Than Previously Known

No, just forced to admit now

[LaPera]

20. "Than previously known"? Who in the fuck even for a moment didn't know Rove was completely behind it

Certainly I knew from reading about it, knowing what a slimy fuck Rove is, to whom and where it was occurring around the country, (the usual Rove & WH fingerprints all over it) and why Bush & the republicans wanted it.

The same with the Don Siegelman case, Rove was completely the instigator as well as the hit man in illegally bringing down democratic Governor Don Siegelman in Alabama.

Certainly many around here at DU knew all this as well...But why not the corporate media?

The corporate media doesn't give a fuck about going after republicans like Rove with power, Rove & the republicans always pats these simpletons on their backs and tells them what good patriotic Americans they are, the press dutifully walks away, satisfied, and with glee in their eyes and with their huge pay checks.

[BlueJac]

21. Quit doing beer drinking media stunts Obama and.....

Do something meaningful, like reel in the crooks and clean house!!!

[Vidar]

23. K&R

[Uncle Joe]

25. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Enrique.

[MSC2007]

28. Here is the background on USA Todd Graves and company:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x758013

[LuckyLib]

30. Surprise, surprise, surprise! Rover in the middle of nefarious dealings?

Who woulda thunk it?

[bvar22]

31. Doesn't matter.

The MEMO says we are all supposed to Look the Other Way, or "Look Forward" or something.
Yes, Virginia, there ARE Two Americas.
Don't you just love parades?
:party:

[Rosa Luxemburg]

32. I think we knew that

Rove should be in jail

[Kingofalldems]

33. Oh no, Rove's DU pal claims Siegelman guilty---

everything on the up and up. A jury convicted him don't-you-know.

[2Design]

34. Than previously known by who? the msm? the fox noise crowd? who?

We knew!

[pleah]

36. K&R

[dysfunctional press]

37. it must be difficult trying to sort out all those files...

especially with so many pages stuck together from rove's daily masturbation sessions with them.

[bleever]

38. I believe I'll recommend this post.

Thanks for posting this article.

[tiptoe]

39. K & R!

Cleaning the Augean stables...err...DOJ, CIA, FDA, EPA...

[tomm2thumbs]

40. the pudding is beginning to thicken

[The Wizard]

42. Oh, that Karl Rove

For a minute the corporate media had him confused with the other Karl Rove.
The other Karl Rove is all virtue and light, and he would never do anything underhanded.

[pjt7]

43. Eric Holder

are you worth any salt on this earth?

[TxVietVet]

44. The whole bu$hnazi regime's eight years.......

Needs to be investigate. There are serious violations of law these people committed. bu$h told one in the White House that the Constitution was just "a goddamn piece of paper".
So what happens if there is no investigations into the activities bu$h/cheney did to our system of government? The CIA, the inJustice Department, the FBI?

I will make a prediction that if there is no investigation of this group of criminals, shame on the US when the next batch of conservanazis take over our government. IT WILL BE A WHOLE LOT WORSE. Mark my words. :evilfrown:

[TankLV]

65. Too many of us have said the same thing that we're all out of breath...

but glad to have another "member"!!!

[LynnTheDem]

45. I am so shocked shocked I tell you. How very

shocking.

[geckosfeet]

46. I am shocked. Shocked I say.

My guess is that they were in it up to their ears.

[JohnWxy]

50. But can we ever nail this slimey Creep?

[Botany]

51. For the one thousand and third time

The NSA did the spying (first wiretap Feb. 2001 in San Fransisco)
and the phone / computer hacks (see John Kerry Ohio 2004)

and the DoJ was the Muscle w/ the U.S. Attorneys being the hit men.

The idea that somebody was manipulative as Rove would have all that power and not
use it seems a little far fetched to me.

[RedCloud]

53. Bush's brain did the thinking? Not surprising.

The democrats are so afraid of republican retaliation, they will do nothing. OTOH when Republicans are reminded their hate talk brought about the assassinations of several young progressive leaders, they even ratchet up their hate talk.

[notadmblnd]

56. it's no surprise to any of us that he orchrestrated it

nt

[aquart]

58. Known to whom?

We damn well knew.

[Kingofalldems]

59. Special Prosecutor needed pronto

[DWilliamsamh]

60. sur-PRISE sur-PRISE (in best Gomer Pyle voice) (N/T)

[sofa king]

61. ... but not more than previously guessed. By all of us.

[winyanstaz]

62. Why why why isnt this criminal in prison?

Damn it! The justice department seems to be very broken. And we can thank Rove for that as well.

[ShamelessHussy]

63. Get out!

[annabanana]

64. HEY HOLDER!

Wassssaapp?

[lovuian]

66. Rove go to JAIL

that he is not there is making our Justice system an entire sham

[beac]

67. Again, I renew my call to for a program to eliminate the Federal deficit by charging $100 a turn

to kick Karl Rove in the nuts.

[rocktivity]

68. Candidate for this year's "You Call This NEWS?" award

More than Previously known by WAPO, maybe...

:eyes:
rocktivity

[rocktivity]

69. Candidate for this year's "You Call This NEWS?" award

More than previously known--or admitted to--by WAPO, maybe...

:eyes:
rocktivity

[Canuckistanian]

70. New Mexico. Pete Domenici and Heather Wilson

It's about time they were called to the stand.

[L. Coyote]

71. That's wonderful. Call the DC water plant and tell them, 'More amnesia supplement!"

Otherwise, this felonious conduct won't be forgotten by morning! :rofl: And, he may be indicted.

[libodem]

72. well, go fuckin' figure

So? Nobody's going do anything about it.

[Pat Riot]

73. It is the worst thing

they have done, except for starting the war. And maybe the "patriot" act. Destroying the constitution while babbling Orwellian newspeak. THEY are the ones using "activist judges legislating from the bench."

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

78. Hey Karl

10/24/04

:redbox: :tv:

I Pray you and all your Buddies are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law.

Slime.

[Piewhacket]

79. Transcripts, I want transcripts! Hoot hoot hoot!

[XXXMADAM]

80. Rove is a PIMP! Ditto for Cheney

At least 3 of the 9 fired prosecutors were working on FBI political Sextortion schemes.

Rove, Cheney and CIA Foggo all lived in Texas when they began the sextortion scheme in 1993 along with DC madam Palfrey.

http://fbicorruption.250free.com

http://www.defraudingamerica.com/robin_head.html

[SharonRB]

81. And in other news...

water is wet, the sky is blue and Sarah Palin is an idiot.

[midnight]

83. I wonder how they discovered this? Give Don Siegelman another trial.

[GreenTea]

84. Is ANTBODY surprised about the slimy Rove? WE knew it all the time!