Rove, Miers to testify before House panel

WASHINGTON, March 4 (UPI) -- Ex-Bush aides Karl Rove and Harriet Miers will testify privately before a U.S. House panel probing alleged politicization at the Justice Department.

Politico reported Wednesday that a well-placed source said the deal worked out by the House Judiciary Committee provides for Rove, who was deputy chief of staff under former President George W. Bush, and Miers, Bush's legal counsel, to be interviewed behind closed doors but on the record.

Transcripts of the interviews will be made public and the panel did not relinquish the right to seek public testimony from the two longtime political operatives, the Washington publication said.

Bush had sought for months to prevent Rove and Miers from being compelled to testify, citing separation of powers protections afforded presidential advisers. Rove's attorney has said his client didn't mind testifying, but was abiding by Bush's desire to invoke executive privilege.

Judiciary Chairman John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., called the arrangement a victory for congressional oversight, The Hill reported.

"I have long said that I would see this matter through to the end and am encouraged that we have finally broken through the Bush administration's claims of absolute immunity," he said. "This is a victory for the separation of powers and congressional oversight. It is also a vindication of the search for truth."

The panel is investigating what role, if any, Rove played in the firings of nine U.S. attorneys and the government's prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman on public corruption charges.