Congressman John Conyers Writes a Letter to Karl Rove Asking Him to
Resign
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Representative John Conyers, Jr., the Ranking
Member, on the
House Judiciary Committee sent the following letter to Senior White
House
Advisor, Karl Rove, asking for his resignation:
October 7, 2003
Dear Mr. Rove:
I write to ask you to resign from the White House staff. Recent press
reports
have indicated that, while you may or may not have been the source of
the Robert
Novak column which revealed the status and name of a covert
operative, the wife
of Ambassador Joseph Wilson, you were involved in a subsequent effort
to push
this classified information to other reporters and give it even wider
currency.
This itself may be a federal crime, but regardless of that fact, your
actions
are morally indefensible.
In my view, it is shameful and unethical that an Administration that
promised to
govern with "honor and integrity" and "change the tone" in Washington
has now
engaged in an orchestrated campaign to smear and intimidate
truth-telling
critics, placing them in possible physical harm and impairing the
efforts and
operations of the CIA.
Recent reports indicate that you told the journalist, Chris Matthews,
and
perhaps others, that Mr. Wilson's wife and her undercover status were
"fair
game." Evan Thomas and Michael Isikoff, Newsweek, Oct. 13, 2003.
Since these
initial allegations have arisen, neither the White House nor your
office have
denied your involvement in furthering the leak.
Repeated press inquiries into this matter have been rebuffed with
technical
jargon and narrow legalisms, instead of broader ethical issues.
Indeed, in the
same article it appears a White House source acknowledged that you
contacted
Matthews and other journalists, indicating that "it was reasonable to
discuss
who sent Wilson to Niger."
It should be noted that these actions may well have violated 18 U.S.C.
§ 793,
which prohibits the willful or grossly negligent distribution of
national
defense information that could possibly be used against the United
States. The
law states that even if you lawfully knew of
Mr. Wilson's wife's status, you were obliged to come forward and
report the
press leak to the proper authorities - not inflame the situation by
encouraging
further dissemination. 18 U.S.C. § 793(f). Larger than whether any
one statute
can be read to find criminal responsibility is the issue of whether
officials of
your stature will be allowed to use their influence to intimidate
whistle-blowers.
Over three decades ago, our nation was scarred by an Administration
that would
stop at nothing to smear and intimidate its critics. I do not believe
the Nation
will countenance a repeat of such activities. For your role in this
campaign, I
would ask that you resign immediately.
Sincerely,
John Conyers, Jr.
Ranking Minority Member
cc: The Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary
==========================
Congressman John Conyers
Schumer questions White House, Conyers wants Rove to quit
(Washington DC) – Congressman John Conyers, Jr., issued the following
statement
today regarding his forum on ... (Washington DC) - Congressman John
Conyers, Jr. ...
Description: Official web site for Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D -
MI)
CLICK:
LEAK - GATE:
This White House Scandal Finally Tips the Scale!
http://www.apfn.org/APFN/LEAKGATE.HTM
