| On Friday, Vince Leibowitz reported that Karl Rove would be raising money for Republican state representative candidates John Davis, Gary Elkins, Jim Murphy, and Ken Legler on August 12. Now, there's news that Rove will be headlining an event for Sen. John Cornyn in El Paso on August 18. Rove sure doesn't let a little thing like a congressional subpeona get in the way of raising money for Texas Republicans The El Paso Times has more, including a quote from Buck Smith David Beckwith: Rove, ex-deputy chief of staff for President Bush, will be the headliner for a private fundraiser Aug. 18 to be hosted by El Pasoans J.O. and Marlene Stewart. "We expect he (Rove) will attend," said Dave Beckwith, spokesman for Cornyn's campaign in Austin, who would not elaborate. The House Committee on the Judiciary is expected to schedule a hearing next week to determine whether to hold Rove in contempt. The committee alone does not have arrest powers; however, the entire House can vote to have someone arrested for contempt of Congress. In May, the committee issued a subpoena for Rove to testify July 10 in connection with the committee's investigation into the Bush administration's alleged politicization of the Justice Department. In a July 1 letter, Robert D. Luskin, Rove's lawyer told the committee his client was not required to obey the subpoena because he was entitled to the same executive privilege the president asserts for himself. But committee leaders U.S. Reps. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., and Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., rejected Rove's claim of executive privilege in disavowing the subpeona. "(As) chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I will seriously consider all available options to obtain Mr. Rove's testimony asrequired by the subpoena," U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr. said in a statement.Sanchez said, "Mr. Rove is not above the law, and Congress will assert its constitutional role to serve as a check on the power of the executive branch."
Why are Texas Republicans using a man who believes he is "above the law" to raise money? While Cornyn continues to have a substanial financial advantage over Rick Noriega (contribute now), Phillip's post from last week showed that Democrats had a $769,875.12 cash on hand advantage in close Texas House races.
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