Stonewall Day 47: Rove and His Pals on the Intel Committee
MR. BUSH, TEAR DOWN THAT STONE WALL!
A daily service of the DNC, "Mr. Bush, Tear Down That Stone Wall!" will highlight a specific fact that has been revealed and what Americans deserve to know about the White House's involvement in the improper and possibly illegal disclosure of an undercover CIA agent's identity for political gain.
WHAT'S BEEN UNCOVERED
Intelligence Committee Chairman Hoekstra: Coordinated With Rove To Win House Seats. Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, helps develop message strategy for the House Republicans and told members that to win House races there had to be better coordination with the White House. Hoekstra emphasized the two camps were working together closely. For example, he said Karl Rove would be in Lansing to confer with Michigan state party officials and representatives from the congressional campaigns in the state. [CongressDaily, 9/20/04; www.house.gov]
Intelligence Committee Member Renzi: Rove Held $100,000 Lunch For Renzi. Over 170 Republican faithful turned out for Renzi and Rove at a lunch held at Camelback Inn resort in Scottsdale. Attendees included fellow Congressmen J.D. Hayworth and Trent Franks, US Sen. Jon Kyl, and state GOP Chairman Bob Fannin. 50 of the 200 donors that signed up shelled out $1,000 for a quick "VIP photo" with Rove, ticket to just the lunch, including remarks and a Q&A with Rove, cost $250. About twenty contributed the maximum $4,000 for a 30-minute roundtable chat and photo with Rove that preceded the lunch. Rove raked in more than $100,000 for Renzi [Roll Call, 9/24/03; Phoenix Business Journal, 9/27/03]
- Renzi Picked For Rove's Incumbent Protection Program. Renzi benefited from the GOP's high-profile fundraising campaigns - ROMP (Retain Our Majority Program) and FROMP (Freshman Retaining Our Majority Program) - and netted more than $150,000 from other Republican Members' campaign and leadership political action committees as of Dec. 31, when he reported having $405,000 in the bank. [Roll Call, 3/9/04]
Intelligence Committee Member Wilson: Rove Raised Funds for Wilson. U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, a Republican congresswoman in New Mexico, had Vice President Dick Cheney and White House political adviser Karl Rove come speak on her behalf in Albuquerque. [Albuquerque Tribune, 12/19/03]
WHAT AMERICANS DESERVE TO KNOW
Many Republican members of Congress, including several members of the House Intelligence Committee, owe their seats to Rove. So far, no committee in this Republican led Congress has investigated the serious breach of national security by a Bush administration official who disclosed Plame's identity. Why has there been no Congressional investigation? Has Rove hinted that he would stop raising money for their campaigns if they opened an investigation? Has Rove shared information with these members of Congress about the outing of Plame to convince them that an investigation is unnecessary?
47 DAYS
Since The American Public Learned That A White House Official With Security Clearance Leaked The Identity Of A Covert CIA Operative
To read more about the improper and possibly illegal outing of Valerie Plame's identity, including previous "Stonewall" releases, go to: http://www.democrats.org/a/national/honest_government/abuse_of_power/cia_leak_scandal/
