White House Hid Rove's Role in US Attorney Hiring

Karl Rove finagled a U.S. attorney post for his protégé Timothy Griffin, and the White House concealed his role in the appointment, the National Journal concludes from previously unrelease e-mails leaked to them. Griffin replaced fired attorney Bud Cummins; a Justice Department letter (later retracted) assured Congress Rove played no role in the transaction.

The emails between Alberto Gonzales aide D. Kyle Sampson and the White House reveal a systematic cover-up of Rove's activity, the Journal argues, and even a plan to install Griffin without Senate confirmation, via an overlooked passage in the PATRIOT Act. The emails, were leaked with an with claim that that forgetful Gonzales knows their content "chapter and verse." (More Karl Rove stories.)