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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The top aide to White House political adviser Karl
Rove refused to answer at least a dozen questions from a Senate
committee Thursday about the firings of eight U.S. attorneys last
year, asserting -- as expected -- a claim of executive privilege by
President Bush.
art.jennings.consult.pool.jpg
Jennings, right, consults with attorney Mark Paoletta before declining
to answer a question.
Scott Jennings, who also is a special assistant to Bush, arrived at
the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with his attorney, Mark
Paoletta, to avoid a contempt citation.
The panel had subpoenaed both Jennings and Rove, but Rove refused to
show up, angering Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont.
"I consider that blanket claim (of executive privilege) to be
unsubstantiated," Leahy said he told Jennings before the meeting.
White House Counsel Fred Fielding had informed the Judiciary Committee
on Wednesday that Rove, "as an immediate adviser to the president,"
can't be ordered to testify and was told not to attend.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, asked Jennings, "Where is Karl Rove? Why
is he hiding? Why does he throw a young staffer like you into the line
of fire while he hides behind the White House curtains?"
The White House says it is trying to protect the president's ability
to receive candid advice and offered to let top aides discuss the
firings only if they were not placed under oath and no transcript was
taken.
The senators sought answers about e-mail sent by dozens of White House
staff using e-mail accounts provided through a Republican National
Committee Internet address.
Don't Miss
In March, congressional investigators found evidence that White House
staffers had used those e-mail accounts to discuss government business
-- including the firings of the U.S. attorneys -- in violation of the
Presidential Records Act. The law is aimed at keeping government
business separate from partisan political activities.
Last month, the House Judiciary Committee expanded its executive
privilege fight with the White House to the RNC, formally demanding
information from the RNC e-mail accounts.
Leahy asked Jennings why he had used his RNC e-mail account to set up
a conference call to discuss U.S. Attorney Tim Griffin.
In June 2006, Griffin was appointed to replace Bud Cummins, then-U.S.
attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Griffin, a former
lieutenant of Rove, had recently returned from service as a military
lawyer.
Jennings replied: "Senator, pursuant to the president's assertion of
executive privilege over consideration, deliberations or
communications related to the U.S. attorneys matter, I must
respectfully decline to answer your question at this time," an answer
that he gave on many times during his testimony. Video As Jennings
repeatedly refuses to answer, he's accused of getting paid to
'stonewall'
Rove refused to answer at least a dozen questions from a Senate
committee Thursday about the firings of eight U.S. attorneys last
year, asserting -- as expected -- a claim of executive privilege by
President Bush.
art.jennings.consult.pool.jpg
Jennings, right, consults with attorney Mark Paoletta before declining
to answer a question.
Scott Jennings, who also is a special assistant to Bush, arrived at
the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with his attorney, Mark
Paoletta, to avoid a contempt citation.
The panel had subpoenaed both Jennings and Rove, but Rove refused to
show up, angering Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont.
"I consider that blanket claim (of executive privilege) to be
unsubstantiated," Leahy said he told Jennings before the meeting.
White House Counsel Fred Fielding had informed the Judiciary Committee
on Wednesday that Rove, "as an immediate adviser to the president,"
can't be ordered to testify and was told not to attend.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, asked Jennings, "Where is Karl Rove? Why
is he hiding? Why does he throw a young staffer like you into the line
of fire while he hides behind the White House curtains?"
The White House says it is trying to protect the president's ability
to receive candid advice and offered to let top aides discuss the
firings only if they were not placed under oath and no transcript was
taken.
The senators sought answers about e-mail sent by dozens of White House
staff using e-mail accounts provided through a Republican National
Committee Internet address.
Don't Miss
In March, congressional investigators found evidence that White House
staffers had used those e-mail accounts to discuss government business
-- including the firings of the U.S. attorneys -- in violation of the
Presidential Records Act. The law is aimed at keeping government
business separate from partisan political activities.
Last month, the House Judiciary Committee expanded its executive
privilege fight with the White House to the RNC, formally demanding
information from the RNC e-mail accounts.
Leahy asked Jennings why he had used his RNC e-mail account to set up
a conference call to discuss U.S. Attorney Tim Griffin.
In June 2006, Griffin was appointed to replace Bud Cummins, then-U.S.
attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Griffin, a former
lieutenant of Rove, had recently returned from service as a military
lawyer.
Jennings replied: "Senator, pursuant to the president's assertion of
executive privilege over consideration, deliberations or
communications related to the U.S. attorneys matter, I must
respectfully decline to answer your question at this time," an answer
that he gave on many times during his testimony. Video As Jennings
repeatedly refuses to answer, he's accused of getting paid to
'stonewall'
