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Rove, Miers to testify in prosecutor firings
2009-03-04
WASHINGTON - Former top aides to President George W. Bush agreed Wednesday to testify before Congress under oath about the firings of U.S. attorneys, a controversy involving allegations of political interference that became a major issue in Bush's second term. The Bush White House had fought attempts to force Karl Rove and Harriet Miers to testify, and the agreement -- steered by aides to President Barack Obama -- ended that constitutional standoff with Congress. Both the White House and lawmakers, especially now that Democrat Obama has replaced Republican Bush -- were leery of having a judge settle the question about the limits of executive privilege, for fear of losing. The agreement calls for Rove and Miers, Bush's top political adviser and White House counsel, to testify before the House Judiciary Committee in closed depositions "under the penalty for perjury," said House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich. The committee says it also might call the two for public testimony. The arrangement ends a lawsuit over whether former White House aides could be forced to testify about matters on which they advised the president. Bush had ordered his Rove and Miers not to testify in the U.S. attorneys investigation, and the Judiciary Committee sued a year ago. Last July, U.S. District Judge John Bates rejected Bush's contention that senior White House advisers were immune from the committee's subpoenas, siding with Congress' power to investigate the executive branch. The Bush administration had appealed the decision. Bush spokesman Rob Saliterman said Wednesday, "At the urging of the Obama administration, and in consideration of the executive branch interests at stake, we have reached an accommodation with the House Judiciary Committee that satisfies the committee's desire for additional information and will finally put this matter to rest." Justice Department officials said the committee and the Obama administration would make a joint filing to the court asking the judge to stay the lawsuit over the issue. If the agreement is breached, the case could be revived. White House Counsel Greg Craig said the deal came after "a tremendous amount of hard work, patience and flexibility on both sides." "The agreement will allow the committee to complete its investigation into the U.S. attorneys matter, and it will do so in the way such disputes have historically been resolved -- through negotiation and accommodation between the legislative and executive branches," Craig said. "The president is pleased that the parties have agreed to resolve this matter amicably." At issue is the firing of nine U.S. attorneys. An internal Bush Justice Department investigation concluded that -- despite administration denials -- political considerations played a part in the firings of as many as four of them. Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey named a special prosecutor in September to investigate whether former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, other Bush administration officials or Republicans in Congress should face criminal charges in the firings. Conyers said the committee also has the right to take a deposition from William Kelley, a former White House lawyer who played a role in the firings, and that Bush administration documents relevant to the dismissals will be turned over to the committee. "This is a victory for the separation of powers and congressional oversight," Conyers said in a statement. "It is also a vindication of the search for truth. I am determined to have it known whether U.S. attorneys in the Department of Justice were fired for political reasons, and if so, by whom." The committee will probably make the transcripts public, said a committee aide, who wasn't authorized to immediately disclose committee plans. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the agreement "is a great victory for the Constitution, the rule of law and the separation of powers." "Congress now has the opportunity to uncover the truth and determine whether improper criteria were used by the Bush administration to dismiss and retain U.S. attorneys," she said.
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