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Rove Exhibit Rove Exhibit THE WHITE HOUSE , . WASHINGTON Marcl14, 2009 bear Chairman Conyers lind Mr. Flood: I have enclosed with this letter an Agreement Concerning Accommodation (the "Agreement") that outlines aplan to resolve a dispute that arose during Ptesident Bush's Administration . concerning'the enforcement of Comminee. subpoenas.' Both tne Bush Administratio!1 and tne House'Judiciary Committee have confirme\l to me ol'ally and in writing that they nave accepted the terms 'of the enclosed Agreement. Both the Bush Administration and the Committee also have committed to wotkin good faith to resolve any issues. or questions that may arise during the execution of tne Agreemellt. My Office wiIlcontinue to work with both patties t~ implement the Agreement. PI'csident Obama is pleased that the palties have agreedto resolve this matter amicably, and he . ·appreciates the work oUlle.Committee, its staff, and the former Bush Administration. Please contactmewith any questions. SincerelY, /'''7 ;::::'--:::::'_-- .'~ . /' ',//. ~ /" e.er.:' .--" '.. ;.--4.L . Gregory B. Craig If Counsel tQ the President Enclosure' Bon. John COIlyers J1'. Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary U.S, House of Representatives Emmet T. Flood, Esq. Counsel for President George W. Bush . Agreement ConcerningAccommodation . Committee on the Judiciary. US House ofRepresentatives v. Harriet Miers et aZ. Civil Action No. 08-0409 (IDB) . This documenfdescribes the terms ofan accommodation agreement between the Bush Administration and the House Judiciary Committeeto resolve the U.S. Attorneys matter finally. Tae parties agree in KQQclJi!ith to resolve a.nYQ\llstlln_diI1gquestions with aview to",,~dending· the entire matter between the parties. The Obama AdJ;llinistrlltion and the House Judiciary Committee will eXecute a· separate agreement concerning the final disposition ofthe ongoing litigation. Interviews • The House Judiciary Committee (tile "Committee") will interview Karl Rove and Harriet Miers, but there will be no additionalirtterviewees I witnesses (subject to the one exception below). The interviews will be conducted as soon as possible, consistent with needed preparation time and the availability ofthe witnesses and their counsel. Afterthe conclusion ofthe interviews, the Committee reserves its right to seek public testimony from Mr: Rove and Ms. Miers. ·0 The Committee has no current intention to seek interviews ofany additional former Bush WhiteHouse personnel. However, ifinformation comes to light necessitating an interview from former Bush White House official Wiliiam Kelley, the interview will be conducted pursuant to the terms ofthis agreement. • Transcripts ofinterviews will be created and promptly provided to all involved parties. • The scope ofthe interviews will be limited to:. (1) facts relating to the evaluation of, .. decision to dismiss, o(decision to replace the former U.S. Attorneys in question; the alleged decisions to retain certain V.S. Attorneys; and any allegations ofselective prosecution related thereto; and (2) testimony or representations made by Department of Justice officials to Congress on the U.S. Attorneys matter. For the period beginning on March 9, 2007 (the date ofthe Committee's firstwritten demand for information from the White·House), interviews will not inclu<le the contentofconversations involving: (i) Mr. Rove and members ofthe White House Counsel's office; or(ii) !Vis.· Miers and members· ofthe White House Counsel's office. In the case ofMr. Rove, the interview alsowill include facts relating to the prosecution ofAlabama governor Don Sieg.elman. • As to official privileges, counsel will direct witnesses not to ~espond to questions only when questions relate to communications to or from the President or when ql.lestions are . outside the scope ofquestioning set forth above. •. The following counsel may attend the interviews: counsel for the interviewee, Committee majority, Committee minority, the President, and thet-ormer President. • Interviewees will be allowed a reasonable period oftime to review relevant documents in advance ofthe interview. • Reasonable logistical details (e.g., venue, time limitation, etc.) will be set in advance. Documents • With the exception of4 pagesofparticularly sensitive privileged material (whichwill be described for Committee staff by arepresentative ofthefornier'President), Committee staff(majority and minority) will be allowed to review the documents for the period December 2004 through March 8, 2007. Documents subpoenaed by the Coinrnittee from Harriet Miers will be treated in the same manner. • The foregoing documents will be provided to' Committee staff(majority and' minority) at a reasonable time in advance ofthe interviews. '. As to documents post-dating March 8,2007, the following will be made available for Committee review only.and a copy will not be produced to the Committee: - The final draft ofthe Scudder Memorandum; - Any factual chronology prepared by the Department ofJustice Office ofLegal Counsel in the possession ofthe White House; and - Any documents showing White House inputs or edits to Congressional testimony ofDepartment ofJustice officials on the subject ofthe U.S. Attorneys matter. Copies oftl1e aforementioned documents will be made available for the Committee's use during' interviews·conducted pursuant to this agreement. The Committee will return and will not retain any such copies at the conclusion ofthe respective interviews. • In addition, the former Administration will conduct a timely review to identify: (I) any . documents sent to/from White House personnel to/from third parties other than Department ofJustice personnel; and (2) any documents referenced in. the aforementioned Scudder Memorandum or OLC chronologies shawn to the Committee. Theformer Administration will consider making some or all ofthe above material available to the Committee (in the same manner as the other postcMarch 8, 2007 documents described above). This process will be completed and the issue resolved prior to the interviews described in this agreement. • Documents and their coJitents will remain confidential through the time ofcompletion of the last interview. At that time, copies ofdocuments provided to the C'ommittee and/or contents ofdocuments reviewed by the Committee may be made public. The transcripts discussed above may be made public after the completion ofthe last interview and after counsel has had a reasonable opportunity to review them for accuracy. No document or part ofany document .and no description or partial description ofany document shall be disclosed to any other person until after the completion ofthe last interview. 2 Litigation • The existirig litigation will be stayed or the briefing schedule extended in such a way as to serve as the equivalent ofa stay until at least the completion ofthe interviews. • The Committee retains its rights to challenge any assertion ofprivilege over questions atlIidocuments for the period December 2004 through March 8,2007. • The Committee will not argue that this.accommodation operates as a bar or waiver ofthe Current or former Administration's existing rights, including butnot limited to the right to arguejurisdictional objections, claims ofimmunity, or claims ofexecutive privilege 3 Documents Show Justice Ranking U.S. Attorneys: NPR http://www.npr.orgfternplates/stJJry/story.php?stJJryld~575434 Login I Register June 17, 2009 Legal Affairs Documents Show Justice Ranking U.S. Attorneys by An Shapiro .._._.____+__. .~._. .. .. __ _ ~ . Listen Now [18 sec] add to playlisl I download All 'Things Considered, April 13, 2007 . 'The Justice Department sent Congress a new batch of documents about the dismissals ofeight U.S. attorneys. 'The documents show Justice Department and White House staffers planning the firings and trying to control the subsequent fallout. Some ofthe newly released docnments are repeats, like the letter in which Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' chiefofstaff, Kyle Sampson, responds to a suggestion from White House counsel Harriet Miers that all 93 U.S. attorneys be fired. NPR now has new information about that plan. According to someone who's had conversations with White House officials, the plan to fire all 93 U.S. attorneys originated with political adviser Karl Rove. Itwas seen as a way to get political cover fodiring the small number of U.S. attorneys the White House actually wanled to get rid of. Documents show the plan was eventually dismissed as impractical. 'The Justice Department documents released today include a spreadsheet ranking all 93 prosecutors. 'The mart ranks them on whether they have Hill experience, campaign experience, and - in the last column - whether they're members of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal group. By eventually dismissing the eight prosecutors, the White House starteddown a path that has led to a clash with Congress over executive privilege. 'The current question is whether, and how, White House officials will testify about their role in the dismissals. In a letter'Thursday, White House Counsel Fred Fielding told Congress he won't budge from his original offer­ to let Congress interview White House staffers privately, with no oath or transcript. Sources tell NPR that Fielding actually wants to negotiate with Congress about how the interviews will take place. But Fielding has not been able to persuade President Bush to go along. Congress still wants to know more about the months leading up to the firings and who was involved in the decision-making. A House committee
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