By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday May 2, 2007
WASHINGTON - Senators subpoenaed Attorney General Alberto
Gonzales on Wednesday, ordering him to provide all e-mails
related to presidential adviser Karl Rove and the firings of
eight federal prosecutors.
"It is troubling that significant documents highly relevant
to the committee's inquiry have not been produced," Judiciary
Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record),
D-Vt., wrote in a letter to Gonzales. The subpoena gives Gonzales
until May 15 to turn over the information.
Not accepting the White House's explanation that some Rove-related
e-mails may have been lost, Leahy subpoenaed any in the custody
of the Justice Department. Leahy pointed to Rove's lawyer's
statement that some of those the White House claims might be
lost had been turned over to U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald
as part of the investigation into the leak of CIA agent Valerie
Plame's identity.
It was unclear whether any were related to the prosecutor
firings, but congressional investigators believe that if Fitzgerald
could retrieve some e-mails for his investigation, those related
to the firings of U.S. attorneys are also recoverable.
The White House has said it is trying to recover e-mails that
were lost but has not promised to give any to congressional
investigators.
A Justice Department spokesman did not immediately return
a call seeking comment.
Gonzales said during his April 19 testimony to Leahy's committee
that he did not know the details but would get back to the
chairman.
"I have not heard from you since," Leahy wrote,
urging compliance with all of his panel's requests for information "to
avoid further subpoenas."
It was the committee's first subpoena issued since the firings
caused an uproar earlier this year and imperiled Gonzales'
job.
Meanwhile Wednesday, a bipartisan group of Judiciary Committee
senators demanded that Gonzales turn over an internal order
that granted his top aides some hiring and firing authority
over political appointees below the level of U.S. attorneys.
The separate subpoena orders the Justice Department to turn
over "complete and unredacted versions of any and all
e-mails and attachments to e-mails to, from, or copied to Karl
Rove" related to the firings, written on White House,
Republican National Committee or any other e-mail accounts.
The committee is probing whether Rove and other top White
House officials conducted official business on RNC accounts
intended for political work, then deleted them in violation
of the law.
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