Kerry Says Rove and Miers Must Clear the Air - Testify In Gonzales Probe

Press Release

Kerry Says Rove and Miers Must Clear the Air - Testify In Gonzales Probe

Sen. John Kerry today asked President Bush to make White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers available to Senators investigating whether eight US Attorneys were fired for political reasons. Kerry said the Administration should not fight a subpoena and instead should cooperate with the investigation. Kerry also announced that he is co-sponsoring legislation with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) that would roll back a provision allowing the President to appoint interim US Attorneys without seeking Senate confirmation. It's unclear whether that provision has been used by the Bush Administration to purge prosecutors who are not loyal Republicans.

"Congress shouldn't have to learn from the newspapers that Karl Rove has his fingerprints all over these firings," Kerry said. "We know Karl Rove has been at the helm of the most blatantly political White House agenda in years. I've said before that the President should fire Rove; today, he should tell Rove to willingly answer any and all questions, as part of this investigation into the purge of prosecutors who didn't toe the Republican Party line. The integrity of our US Attorney system is critical to the confidence in our legal system. The President must move quickly to stop the bleeding and restore public trust."

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