Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., issued the ultimatum after Rove's lawyers turned down a subpoena issued by the subcommittee looking into allegations of "politicization" at the Department of Justice, according to The Hill.

The chairman's letter said that the Administrative Law subcommittee would convene as scheduled next week and Rove was expected to attend.

The Hill reported that Rove's July 1 response said the Republican political guru would be unable to attend the hearing, but did offer to sit down for an "off-the-record" interview with subcommittee Chairwoman Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif.

The newspaper noted that if Rove were cited for contempt of Congress, he would be the third Bush administration official to be dinged for refusing to testify in the probe.