Rep. Wasserman Schultz: Rove May Be Held in Contempt if He Doesn’t Appear Thursday

Karl Rove, the former strategist for President Bush, may be held in contempt if he doesn’t honor a subpoena and testify before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said.

The committee wants Rove to testify about his role in the firings of U.S. attorneys and the prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman (D).

Wasserman Schultz, who has said before that the committee would be willing to arrest Rove if he didn’t appear, said on MSNBC Tuesday that the House Democratic leadership has yet to decide whether it would actually hold Rove in contempt. But she said that Democrats would “explore all the options available.”

“I know that those decisions have not been made,” she said. “And I know that we are going to explore all of the options available. This is very serious. I mean, we’re talking about somebody who has intricate detailed knowledge not just about the Don Siegelman case but a variety of things. And it is high time, long past time that he come in front of the Judiciary Committee and answer those questions, especially because he’s answered them on national television.”

She added that Democratic leaders have not asked the committee to take its rhetoric over Rove’s appearance “down a notch.”

“I mean, let me just tell you, we are all deadly serious about making sure that we can get the information that we believe we need,” she said. “Congress, since the Democrats took over, has re-engaged in terms of our oversight role, which was nonexistent under the Republicans. And so, we take our oversight role very seriously.”

Former White House official Brad Blakeman, who appeared with Wasserman Schultz on MSNBC, said that the House Judiciary Committee just wants “a show.”

“And they want Karl to sit in a chair and ask him a ton of ridiculous questions, many of which he’s going to have to invoke his privilege and the president’s privilege and that’s just ridiculous,” he said.