Karl Rove and the rotten core

By Michael J.W. Stickings

One of the big stories today comes from the indefatigable Murray Waas of National Journal, who is reporting on -- guess what? -- a White House cover-up:

The Bush administration has withheld a series of e-mails from Congress showing that senior White House and Justice Department officials worked together to conceal the role of Karl Rove in installing Timothy Griffin, a protégé of Rove's, as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

The withheld records show that D. Kyle Sampson, who was then-chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, consulted with White House officials in drafting two letters to Congress that appear to have misrepresented the circumstances of Griffin's appointment as U.S. attorney and of Rove's role in supporting Griffin.

The withheld records show that D. Kyle Sampson, who was then-chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, consulted with White House officials in drafting two letters to Congress that appear to have misrepresented the circumstances of Griffin's appointment as U.S. attorney and of Rove's role in supporting Griffin.

Ed Morrissey thinks this is "old news dressed up for new headlines" and follows the White House in directing the blame at Gonzales, but old news is still news, particularly with a running story like this one, and, what's more, the cover-up is new news. Morrissey also notes that Rove may not have "acted illegally," as "these are political appointments, and the White House has the authority to dismiss appointees, even when it's a stupid thing to do," but that's only part of the problem. Even if what Rove did wasn't illegal, it was more than stupid, it was, in this one particular case in particular, odious and noxious, and an assault on American democracy, insofar as it involved both the partisanization of the justice system and the personalization of that partisanization. It wasn't enough that a U.S. attorney be unjustly fired and replaced with a partisan friend, the friend had to be a Rove protégé.

How corrupt, how despicable.

And that's before the cover-up, which is the new news. So it wasn't enough that a U.S. attorney be unjustly fired and replaced with a Rove protégé, the White House had to lie about Rove's role in the whole sordid affair.

But this is all Gonzales's fault, say the apologists? Come now. Please. Gonzales is a hack, a dupe. He deserves to go, but that wouldn't be closure. Not for a story like this, a story like an onion, a story with many layers that need to be peeled away before we find the truly rotten core.

Like all of Waas's pieces, this one deserves to read in full. Follow this story closely. There's much more to it than just a few questionable firings and Gonzales's utter incompetence.

And now let me end this post by letting Melissa McEwan speak for me: "I literally cannot bring myself to heave out one more post elucidating how profoundly corrupt and deserving of permanent exile from government is every last bloody member of the Bush administration."

Ah, but more such posts there will be. The corruption must be exposed.

Heave away, heave away.