Rove testifies on prosecutor firings

Committee quizzes ex-Bush aide over politically motivated dismissals

NBC Video: Politics

Little Rock health fair, another success
Nov. 23: Nicole Lamoureux, the Executive Director of the National Association of Free Clinics, talks about the outcome of the latest free health care clinic held in Little Rock, Arkansas and how it illustrates the growing need for reform.

Choosing sides on health reform

Will Senate Democrats divide over a public option?

Palin visits Fort Bragg on book tour

Instituting a war surtax

Slideshow

First 100 days
Striking images from President Barack Obama’s jam-packed first 100 days in office.

more photos

INTERACTIVE

Get political at Newsvine
Read, rate and discuss the latest news.

updated 7:02 a.m. ET July 8, 2009

WASHINGTON - Former Bush White House official Karl Rove was questioned by House Judiciary Committee lawyers Tuesday on any role he may have played in politically motivated firings of U.S. attorneys.

Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., confirmed Rove's closed-door appearance through a committee spokesman who was not authorized to be quoted by name.

The committee has been seeking answers on who created the list of federal prosecutors who would lose their jobs. Conyers has suspected the trail led to the White House but couldn't prove it. Former President George W. Bush asserted executive privilege for Rove and former White House lawyer Harriet Miers and refused to let them testify.

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

An agreement was struck in March between Rove's lawyer and the committee for Rove, who was Bush's top political adviser, to testify on the prosecutors' firings, as well as the prosecution of former Gov. Don Siegelman of Alabama. Siegelman, a Democrat, has alleged that his prosecution was pushed by Republicans, including Rove.

The agreement called for Rove to testify "under the penalty for perjury," Conyers has said. The committee could release the transcripts afterward, but the agreement also allowed for public testimony.

Nine U.S. attorneys were fired. An internal Bush Justice Department investigation concluded that political considerations played a part in at least four of the dismissals.

Rove's appearance before the Judiciary Committee was first reported Tuesday night by the Web site Politico.

More on Karl Rove