The Siegelman-Rove (Non) Connection

As much as Alabama supporters of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman wanted evidence that Karl Rove's hands were involved in Siegelman's prosecution, no such words were found in his deposition or in emails and other documents collected by a U.S. Senate Committee investigating Bush-era malfeasance. The N.Y. Times and others are reporting a connection between Rove and fired U.S. Attorneys during the Bush Administration, and that's certainly explosive enough, but as for the smoking Siegleman gun? Nada. Rove was asked about Siegelman at length, but nothing he said adds to the existing evidence of political motivation by prosecutors or the Bush Administration. Siegelman's lawyers, looking for a silver lining, say the fact that Rove has been connected in some way to the U.S. Attorney firings taints him, therefore they can remain suspicious...but they have to be disappointed. Remember all those cries that if only they could get Rove under oath...that only one person had made a sworn statement, lawyer Jill Simpson. But now Rove has testified and denied it all. If he lied he could face serious federal charges. But nothing he said really adds to what the former Governor's supporters wanted.

Other investigations into allegations that Mr. Siegelman was a victim of selective, political prosecution continue.

[UPDATE: Another blogger (Arf!), shall we say, disagrees with my conclusions? Read it here. Still, my point is that the folks who pushed for Rove to testify...what did they expect? Denial or not, didn't they know he could just say "I don't recall" or "not to my knowledge"? What kind of "groundwork" was laid by the Rove non-answers?]