Iglesias: Rove Won’t Testify ‘To Keep Himself From Being Indicted’»

Last week, Karl Rove ignored a subpoena and refused to testify before Congress, choosing instead to take a trip abroad. This morning, David Iglesias, one of the U.S. Attorneys politically purged under Alberto Gonzales, told MSNBC’s Mike Barnicle he believed Rove “had information that…would show illegal activity” and thus will refuse to testify “to keep himself from being indicted”:

IGLESIAS: Which I believe is the reason why he is refusing to testify in front of the Congress. He has information that I believe would show illegal activity, interfering with ongoing federal criminal investigations. So Rove is not testifying I think basically to keep himself from being indicted.

Barnicle also asked Iglesias whether Rove played a role in his firing, to which Iglesias replied, “Absolutely”:

BARNICLE: Do you think he has anything to do with your being dismissed?

IGLESIAS: Absolutely. The evidence is clear that he relayed, he took a call from Pete Domenici about me that he talk to the state party chairman here. He was very involved in something he had no business being involved in which is, you know, the oversight of a federal investigation and a federal prosecutor.

Watch it:

But Rove’s involvement in the politicization of the Justice Department may extend further. Besides his alleged interference in the prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, Marcy Wheeler recently revealed a June letter from special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald in which he suggested that Rove tried to fire him in 2005, in the middle of his investigation of Rove.

Last week, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) insisted that if Rove continued to ignore her committee’s subpoena, he “absolutely” should go to jail.

Transcript:

BARNICLE: In your discussions with the other U.S. Attorneys, does the name Karl Rove ever come up?

IGLESIAS: Many, many times. Which I believe is the reason why he is refusing to testify in front of the Congress. He has information that I believe would show illegal activity, interfering with ongoing federal criminal investigations. So Rove is not testifying I think basically to keep himself from being indicted.

BARNICLE: Do you think he has anything to do with your being dismissed?

IGLESIAS: Absolutely. The evidence is clear that he relayed, he took a call from Pete Domenici about me that he talk to the state party chairman here. He was very involved in something he had no business being involved in which is, you know, the oversight of a federal investigation and a federal prosecutor.

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