WASHINGTON -- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Wednesday that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is playing politics with its vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress, an action she said that even she didn't seek as House Speaker when she thought someone was legitimately deserving of it.
"I could have arrested Karl Rove on any given day," Pelosi said to laughter, during a sit-down with reporters. "I'm not kidding. There's a prison here in the Capitol ... If we had spotted him in the Capitol, we could have arrested him."
Rove was senior advisor and deputy chief of staff to former President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2007.
Asked on what grounds she could have arrested Rove, Pelosi replied, "Oh, any number. But there were some specific ones for his being in contempt of Congress. But we didn't."
The House committee is voting Wednesday whether to hold the U.S. attorney general in contempt of Congress for not handing over certain documents sought by the committee chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). The contempt vote comes after months of complaining by Issa that Holder is refusing to comply with subpoenas for materials relating to the Justice Department's botched Operation Fast and Furious. Holder, who has already given the committee 7,600 documents, maintains he can only provide so many materials without breaching confidentiality rules.
Nancy Pelosi Slams Contempt Vote: 'I Could Have Arrested Karl Rove ... But We Didn't'
