1 Boring Old Man

Rove Issues Non-Denial Of Role In Seigelman Case:
‘I Read About It In The Newspaper’

Last week, the House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed former White House aide Karl Rove to determine his knowledge and role in the decision to prosecute former Democratic governor of Alabama Don Siegelman.

ABC’s This Week host George Stephanopolous asked Rove if he was directly or indirectly involved in Siegelman’s prosecution. Having trouble coming up with a coherent explanation, Rove simply offered this legalistic non-denial denial. “I learned about Don Siegelman’s prosecution by reading about it in the newspaper,” Rove said.

When Stephanopolous continued to press Rove about his involvement in the case, Rove stuttered and stammered, then responded by again saying he learned about it in the newspaper. Stephanopolous astutely noted, “That’s not a denial”:

STEPHANOPOLOUS: But to be clear, you did not contact the Justice Department about this case?
ROVE: I read about — I’m going to simply say what I’ve said before which is, I found out about Don Siegelman’s investigation and indictment by reading about it in the newspaper.
STEPHANOPOLOUS: But that’s not a denial.
ROVE: Uh. I’ve — I’ve — I’ve — uh — you know, I read about it. I heard about it, read about it, learned about it for the first time by reading about it in the newspaper.
[video]

Veterans of Rove-Speak now quickly recognize a Rovian Non-Denial from 100 yards. He doesn’t answer the question about contacting the Justice Department, then he says, "I found out about Don Siegelman’s investigation and indictment by reading about it in the newspaper." That means exactly what is says. He didn’t know the investigation had started until he read about it in the newspaper and he didn’t know Siegelman was indicxted until he read about it in the newspaper. He could easily have been on the phone with the Justice Department about this case daily for months, but he didn’t know when the investigation started or when Siegelman was indicted. In fact, his answer indicates that he did, in fact, contact with the Justice Department about the case. If he hadn’t, he’d have surely said, "I did not contact the Justice Department about the Siegelman case." If, however, he said that, it might mean that they were contacted via Sarah Taylor or some other aide. Again, the classic example is, "I never said her name," referring to Valerie Plame [he had said, "Wilson's wife"].

If you watch the video, he says everyone denies that the incriminating phone call [Dana Jill Simpson] occurred. When Stephanopolous points out that there’s a cell phone record, Rove moves on to some discussion of Presidential privacy and his willingness to testify in private not under oath, ignoring Stephanopolous’ comment.

Stephanopoulos Does What Fox News Refuses To Do
Identifies Rove As An Informal McCain Adviser

On ABC’s This Week today, host George Stephanopoulos introduced Karl Rove as “President Bush’s former deputy chief of staff and political strategist, an informal adviser to John McCain’s campaign.” But Rove immediately objected to this characterization, saying “I wouldn’t even go that far, informal adviser, no way.”

Stephanopoulos pressed Rove on his relationship:

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, you pass on information to them, you give them advice.
ROVE: Chit-chat.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Chit-chat, ok. Well I think that that justifies, that that qualifies as informal, but let’s move on.
[video]