Alleged Rove Secret Riles Senators
By Tom Brune
NewsDay
Monday 10 October 2005
Washington - Senators yesterday demanded disclosure of the secret that top Bush aide Karl Rove told a conservative activist last week to reassure him about Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, but the White House insisted there is no secret to divulge.
Many politicians and activists reacted with surprise last week when conservative Focus on the Family founder James Dobson announced his support for Miers and said on his radio show Wednesday that Rove told him things about Miers "I probably shouldn't know."
Three senators - Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) - said yesterday on morning talk shows that Miers' confirmation could be derailed if there were what Specter called "any backroom deals" on her votes on abortion or other issues that come before the Supreme Court.
Leahy said he wanted to know why so many conservatives who had been called by the White House "seem to assume that such assurances were made." He added, "She says they were not. I want to know who says they are."
Rove and other White House aides have sought to reassure conservatives who reacted with disappointment and anger at President George W. Bush's selection of his one-time personal lawyer instead of a well-known conservative jurist.
Schumer said Dobson should be called to testify when the Senate Judiciary Committee holds hearings on Miers, a step Specter did not rule out.
"The Senate Judiciary Committee is entitled to know whatever the White House knew," said Specter, who chairs the committee.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Rove said he shared no secret about Miers or her potential future votes.
"In his outreach calls to Dr. Dobson as well as many others, including members of Congress, at no point did anyone ask nor did Karl offer any indication of how Harriet would vote on any particular case that may come before the court," Perino said.
Dobson was not available yesterday, but a spokesman said he would not talk about his conversation with Rove. He added that Dobson could not comment on an invitation to appear before the Senate.
Perino said Rove spoke of his 15 years working with Miers. The ground he covered included, she said, "her conservative judicial philosophy that matches the president's, her qualifications to be a Supreme Court justice and her vast knowledge of the constitution and constitutional law based on 30 years of legal practice, including five years in the White House, where such knowledge is not only required but relied upon daily as decisions come before her."
That statement did not satisfy Schumer. He said, "Mr. Dobson has made some strong statements, and he must let the public know what he knows."
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Link Here
NewsDay
Monday 10 October 2005
Washington - Senators yesterday demanded disclosure of the secret that top Bush aide Karl Rove told a conservative activist last week to reassure him about Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, but the White House insisted there is no secret to divulge.
Many politicians and activists reacted with surprise last week when conservative Focus on the Family founder James Dobson announced his support for Miers and said on his radio show Wednesday that Rove told him things about Miers "I probably shouldn't know."
Three senators - Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) - said yesterday on morning talk shows that Miers' confirmation could be derailed if there were what Specter called "any backroom deals" on her votes on abortion or other issues that come before the Supreme Court.
Leahy said he wanted to know why so many conservatives who had been called by the White House "seem to assume that such assurances were made." He added, "She says they were not. I want to know who says they are."
Rove and other White House aides have sought to reassure conservatives who reacted with disappointment and anger at President George W. Bush's selection of his one-time personal lawyer instead of a well-known conservative jurist.
Schumer said Dobson should be called to testify when the Senate Judiciary Committee holds hearings on Miers, a step Specter did not rule out.
"The Senate Judiciary Committee is entitled to know whatever the White House knew," said Specter, who chairs the committee.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Rove said he shared no secret about Miers or her potential future votes.
"In his outreach calls to Dr. Dobson as well as many others, including members of Congress, at no point did anyone ask nor did Karl offer any indication of how Harriet would vote on any particular case that may come before the court," Perino said.
Dobson was not available yesterday, but a spokesman said he would not talk about his conversation with Rove. He added that Dobson could not comment on an invitation to appear before the Senate.
Perino said Rove spoke of his 15 years working with Miers. The ground he covered included, she said, "her conservative judicial philosophy that matches the president's, her qualifications to be a Supreme Court justice and her vast knowledge of the constitution and constitutional law based on 30 years of legal practice, including five years in the White House, where such knowledge is not only required but relied upon daily as decisions come before her."
That statement did not satisfy Schumer. He said, "Mr. Dobson has made some strong statements, and he must let the public know what he knows."
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Link Here
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 5:21 PM
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