The Rap on Karl Rove

Among the documents, as Paul Kiel writes for TPM Muckraker, is evidence that Christopher Oprison -- a member of the White House counsel's office who had previously been a party to e-mails about Rove's interest in Griffin's appointment -- signed off on the letter that denied any such interest.

David D. Kirkpatrick writes in the New York Times: "A spokesman for the White House, Tony Fratto, said the letter was reviewed by an associate White House counsel who left it to the Justice Department to double-check its accuracy.

"'He did not double-check the Justice Department's facts,' Mr. Fratto said. 'He did caution Justice to make sure that the facts were accurate.'

"Mr. Rove had no recollection of seeing the letter, Mr. Fratto said."

But as Richard B. Schmitt and Richard Simon write in the Los Angeles Times: "Documents released Wednesday by the Justice Department raised further questions about whether Sampson and the White House tried to mislead Congress about the part Rove played in replacing the prosecutors. . . .

"'The plot continues to thicken,' [Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), a member of the judiciary committee] said Wednesday in response to the fifth batch of e-mails the Justice Department has released this month. 'It seems the Justice Department rarely acted without the knowledge and approval of the White House. In effect, the White House was involved in denying its own involvement.'"

Negotiations (Non) Watch

Laurie Kellman writes for the Associated Press: "Lawmakers prodded the White House Wednesday for a new answer on whether President Bush's political adviser, Karl Rove, will testify about the firings of federal prosecutors.

"'We have not heard from you,' Patrick Leahy of Vermont and John Conyers of Michigan, the Senate and House Judiciary committees' chairmen, wrote to President Bush's counsel, Fred Fielding.

"The White House has indicated no willingness to move beyond Bush's initial offer to let Rove, former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and their deputies to speak to committee members, but only in private, without being sworn and off the record....

"The two Democrats warned that silence from the White House would not be the end of the matter and cautioned Fielding to preserve all documents detailing the aides' roles in the firings. That includes, the chairmen said, e-mails they may have written on accounts outside the White House -- such as the Republican National Committee and other political campaigns.

"'We trust that you ... are not artificially limiting your production to the official white House e-mail and document retention system,' the chairmen wrote."

Here's the letter to Fielding.