Rove: Charlton fired because he would not ask for death penalty

Associated Press March 15, 2007

Rove: Charlton fired because 'he would not ask for the death penalty'

TROY, Ala. - White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove said Thursday the removal of eight U.S. attorneys was based entirely on policy and personnel matters and was no different than dismissals in the Clinton administration.

He questioned why the Bush administration's action is drawing "super-heated rhetoric" while the dismissals during President Clinton's terms did not.

The dismissal of eight federal prosecutors has drawn fire in Congress over the role White House officials played and possible attempts to politicize federal investigations.

Rove, defending the dismissals, said the U.S. attorney in Southern California was removed because "she would not commit resources to prosecute immigration offenses" despite a request to do so from the Justice Department.

"The U.S. attorney in Arizona said he would not ask for the death penalty. The administration has a policy of, where appropriate, asking for the death penalty," Rove said in response to a student's question.

Paul K. Charlton left his office as U.S. attorney for Arizona in December. He was appointed in 2001.

"In each of these instances a decision was made at the Department of Justice on the basis of policy and personnel," Rove told students at a journalism seminar at Troy University.

"We're at a point where people want to play politics with it. That's fine," he said. "I'd simply ask everybody who's playing politics with this be asked to comment about the removal of 123 U.S. attorneys during the previous administration and see if they had the same super-heated political rhetoric."

The 123 included 93 Republican appointees that the Democrat Clinton replaced when he began his first term, which is common in such a change of command. Rove did not give any details on who the other 30 were.

Rove, who took questions only from students during his one-hour appearance, also did not address what role he may have played - a question some Democrats in Congress want to ask him.

Former U.S. Attorney Redding Pitt of Montgomery, a Democrat who served as a federal prosecutor during the Clinton administration, said in a phone interview that he recalled only six or nine U.S. attorneys being "moved out" because of issues of conduct.

"It was always at the recommendation of upper-echelon, permanent Department of Justice personnel," he said. "I don't ever recall the White House being involved."
Source: Associated Press