WASHINGTON -- In an interview with congressional investigators last month, former White House adviser Karl Rove again denied pressing the federal prosecution of former Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman as a way of helping to elect current Republican Gov. Bob Riley, according to a transcript released today by the House
Judiciary Committee."I had a lot more pressing things on my platter than the Alabama governor's race, and, as a result, a lot more significant things to worry about than the Don Siegelman case," Rove said under questioning by a committee attorney. Although Rove did not testify under oath, it is a crime to lie to Congress.
The deposition took place July 30 as part of the committee's probe into whether that top members of the Bush administration improperly sought to politicize the Justice Department. Siegelman, who served as governor from 1999 to 2003, is free on bond as he battles to overturn his 2006 conviction on federal corruption charges. While no conclusive evidence has so far emerged to support Siegelman's charge that he was the victim of political prosecution, a bi-partisan group of 75 former state attorneys general asked the Justice Department in April to look into the matter. Siegelman defense attorney Vince Kilborn of Mobile could not immediately reached for comment this afternoon on Rove's testimony.
