Senior Aide to Karl Rove Takes Fifth

By Scott Horton

The office of Committee Chair Rep. Henry Waxman announced today that Susan Ralston, a top aide to Presidential advisor Karl Rove long thought to have played a key role in the U.S. attorneys and vote fraud scandals has invoked her Fifth Amendment right in refusing to testify under examination by investigators of the House Oversight Committee. Ralston refused to answer questions relating to convicted felon Jack Abramoff and his associates and various members of the White House staff, including Karl Rove and herself, and all questions concerning the use of Republican National Committee email accounts by White House staffers. Ralston, who is represented by Bradford Berenson (whose other clients involved in the investigation include Kyle Sampson) is seeking immunity from prosecution in exchange for her testimony.