Rove defends firing of U.S. attorneys
Last updated Thursday, March 8, 2007 7:54 PM CST in News
By John Lyon
The Morning News
LITTLE ROCK -- White House political adviser Karl Rove on Thursday defended the administration's controversial firing of Arkansas' Bud Cummins and seven U.S. attorneys.
President Bush's senior adviser declined to comment on the criminal conviction of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby Jr., former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.
Speaking at the Statehouse Convention Center in an appearance sponsored by the University of Arkansas' Clinton School of Public Service, Rove said the Bush administration's firing last year of eight U.S. attorneys was "normal and ordinary."
"By law, and by Constitution, these attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president. They traditionally are given four-year term limits," he said.
Rove said the Bush administration has appointed 128 U.S. attorneys since the president took office. Bill Clinton appointed 123, he said.
"Some of these were removed for cause. Some of them, there were policy disagreements. One U.S. attorney refused to file death penalty cases. Another U.S. attorney who did an otherwise excellent job in the San Diego district refused to file immigration cases," Rove said.
Rove did not specifically mention Cummins, formerly U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, who was replaced by interim U.S. Attorney Tim Griffin, a former assistant to Rove.
A Justice Department official has said there were no performance or policy problems with Cummins.
Rove said some in Congress are playing politics with the appointments.
"The question is, did they have the same reaction if they were in Congress in the '90s, or did they have the same reaction if they were in the '80s? Because every president comes in, appoints U.S. attorneys and then makes changes in the course of their time," he said.
Some have accused the Bush administration of taking advantage of a provision in the Patriot Act that allows the president to appoint interim U.S. attorneys without Senate confirmation.
Rove said the administration wants the appointees to go through the confirmation process.
Griffin, however, has said he does not plan to seek confirmation because of the political firestorm surrounding his appointment.
Griffin, who was in the audience Thursday, declined to comment on Rove's remarks. Griffin said Rove had not spoken with him since arriving in Little Rock, and the two had no plans to meet.
Rove's appearance came two days after a federal jury found Libby guilty of obstruction of justice, giving false statements to the FBI and committing perjury twice before a grand jury.
The charges resulted from an investigation into the leak of the identity of a CIA officer, Valerie Plame Wilson, to the media. Columnist Robert Novak has testified Rove confirmed Wilson's identity to him before Novak revealed her identity in a column.
No criminal charges were brought against Rove, but he, Libby and Cheney are being sued by Valerie Wilson and her husband, Joseph Wilson, who claim Valerie Wilson's identity was revealed in retaliation for Joseph Wilson's criticism of the administration's actions leading up to the Iraq war.
Rove said he was advised by White House counsel not to comment on Libby's conviction.
"I can say anybody who worked with him and anybody who knows him and his wife, Harriet Grant, is sad about it," he said.
Regarding the war, Rove said, "I think history will look back and judge this as the right thing. A difficult struggle, conducted for the right reasons and concluded in the right way."
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catsmeow wrote on Mar 9, 2007 8:06 AM:
good start wrote on Mar 9, 2007 10:10 AM:
Observer wrote on Mar 9, 2007 2:54 PM:
Con Artist in Chief wrote on Mar 9, 2007 7:57 PM:
To Observer wrote on Mar 10, 2007 1:29 PM:
Observer wrote on Mar 11, 2007 2:27 PM:
Hank wrote on Mar 11, 2007 2:32 PM:
Wishful Thinking wrote on Mar 11, 2007 2:39 PM:
a former republican = idiot wrote on Mar 11, 2007 2:53 PM:
Get Real wrote on Mar 11, 2007 3:17 PM:
Rapy Slizbaum wrote on Mar 11, 2007 3:20 PM:
Turtle wrote on Mar 11, 2007 3:23 PM:
deepharbor wrote on Mar 11, 2007 5:12 PM:
Not already registered?
a former republican wrote on Mar 8, 2007 8:32 PM: