If you thought the end of the Bush administration meant the end of the House Judiciary Committee’s ‘contempt’ for the folks believed to be involved in the firings of nine U.S. attorneys during former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ tenure, you’d be wrong.

Yesterday, Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr., subpoenaed former White House adviser Karl Rove to testify next month before the committee on the matter, extending the long-running battle over the firings into the Obama administration.

As a recap, lawmakers voted last year to hold Rove in contempt for refusing to testify about the political motives behind the firings. Rove refused to give testimony, citing executive privilege. The committee had previously summoned Harriet Miers, former White House counsel, and former White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten, even suing them in an attempt to compel their cooperation. But both refused.

It is unclear what effect the change in administration will have on the former White House officials’ privilege claim. Conyers believes it makes a big difference, saying: “Change has come to Washington, and I hope Karl Rove is ready for it. After two years of stonewalling, it’s time for him to talk.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 9:40 am and is filed under Congress, Department of Justice, White House. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.