WASHINGTON (AP) — Karl Rove says a one-time Republican campaign worker who has accused him of dirty tricks against a former Alabama governor is a "complete lunatic," and he calls CBS a "shoddy operation" for airing her allegations.
In an interview with GQ magazine, President Bush's former political guru says he has never met Jill Simpson, an Alabama attorney and GOP campaign volunteer who has claimed that Rove tried to sabotage Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman's career.
"She's a complete lunatic," Rove is quoted as saying. "This woman was not involved in any campaign in which I was involved. I have yet to find anybody who knows her."
Asked why CBS aired her allegations, he said, "Because CBS is a shoddy operation." It aired the story to get good ratings, he said.
Kevin Tedesco, a CBS spokesman, said "60 Minutes" stands by the story and will report on it further Sunday with an interview with Siegelman, who was recently released from prison while his corruption conviction is on appeal. Tedesco said Siegelman would challenge Rove to testify under oath.
Simpson's attorney, meanwhile, said she would ask GQ to retract Rove's remarks and apologize to Simpson.
In the original "60 Minutes" broadcast aired in February, Simpson said Rove asked her to try to find evidence that Siegelman was cheating on his wife. She said it wasn't the first time that Rove — who was heavily involved in Alabama politics before moving to Washington — had asked her to find dirt on Democratic politicians.
Simpson has also claimed she heard conversations among Republicans suggesting that Rove pushed the Justice Department to go after Siegelman as he was running for re-election in 2002.
That claim has attracted attention from Congress, and the House Judiciary Committee called her to Washington last year for a sworn deposition. The committee is looking into the Siegelman case as part of a broader investigation into political meddling by the White House at the Justice Department.
Siegelman was elected in 1998 and narrowly lost re-election in 2002.
After a years-long investigation and prosecution, he was convicted in June 2006 on bribery-related and obstruction charges. He was sentenced last year to more than seven years in prison.
The prosecution stemmed from his appointment of former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy to an influential hospital regulatory board in exchange for Scrushy arranging contributions to Siegelman's campaign for a state lottery.
The Justice Department — as well as the career prosecutors who handled the case — have insisted that politics played no role, emphasizing that Siegelman was convicted by a jury.
Last week, a federal appeals court approved Siegelman's release from prison while he appeals, saying the former governor had raised "substantial questions of fact and law."
1 comment:
Poor Karl he knows the records show Mrs. Simpson is a Republican Worker and has been for many years. He was to busy during the corrupt 2000 and 2004 to notice she was working on his Parties Team. Mrs. Simpson spoke under oath but Karl just talks to the Media because if he were to lie under oath the Congress would be all over him. I must say he did try to keep her from talking. His boys burned her home and ran her off the road in hopes of putting fear in her. Now the only question left is will they wipe her out as they have done others? But he major problem is how do you wipe out her many years of service to the Republican Party?
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