Karl Rove skips the country

Yesterday Karl Rove told the House Judiciary Committee to go Cheney itself. Not only did he not appear as required by subpoena, but it seems he's left the country in a trip that was scheduled LONG before the subpoena -- but about which his lawyers didn't see fit to inform the Committee.

Last night on Dan Abrams' show, Linda Sanchez phumpered around the question of whether she would invoke inherent contempt and subject Karl Rove to arrest, and Politico is reporting that a vote won't be held until later this month, presumably after the Committee's collective fingers in the wind determine if it's "safe" to uphold the rule of law.

As for the claim of executive privilege, Marcy Wheeler notes that the Bush Administration has NOT explicitly claimed executive privilege for Karl Rove. The bind for the Administration is that these hearings are about the politicization of the Justice Department, including, but not limited to, the attorney purge. A claim of executive privilege for Karl Rove would by definition mean White House involvement in this politicization -- and the White House is trying to keep its hands clean.

Will they throw Rove under the bus? Hardly -- he knows too much. But once again, the House is in a position to find its collective nutsack. I for one am not optimistic that it'll do so.

(h/t)