Karl Rove is about to be back in the news again. He has been “invited” to appear before the House Judiciary Committee to answer questions about allegations that there were cases of selective and/or politically-motivated prosecution in the Justice Department during the time he was a member of the Bush Administration.

Karl Rove held several different positions when in the Administration. He was the head of the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison, and the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives. At the time of his resignation in August 2007 he was the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President. This is not the first time Rove has caught the attention of Congress. Back in April 2007, just four months before his resignation, he was investigated for violations of the Hatch Act by using the power of his office to try and influence government employees to vote in favor of the Republicans.

This time he is being asked to testify regarding an investigation that has been on going since last year regarding the way the Justice Department handled their investigations. One that they are mentioning in particular is the prosecution of former Governor of Alabama Don Siegelman. The committee has testimony from an Alabama Republican attorney stating that she heard two separate conversations between third parties who were discussing the fact that Rove intended to contact the Department of Justice and them to prosecute the Governor. The question is not whether or not the Governor or any of the other cases were guity of any crimes, but whether or not they were singled out to be prosecuted while others were put on the back burner.

The committee is also asking the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General as well as the Office of Professional Responsibility to look into all of the allegations. The committee is demanding that Attorney General Michael Mukasey provide additional documents related to the investigation.

This is not the only evidence they have against Rove, the committee states that it actually has a good deal of evidence to support their case. Rove’s attorney has communicated to the committee that Rove would be willing to appear.

If convicted, it would be a blatant misuse of a person’s office and authority. The Department is supposed to prosecute everyone equally, not take into consideration what political party the person belongs to or who would be embarrassed by facts being made public. They are supposed to be the ones who set the standard for the rest of the system.

What comes of it remains to be seen, but the hearings should produce some very interesting testimony.