April 10, 2016

From the man who ought to be sitting somewhere in an orange jumpsuit instead of polluting our airways on Fox week after week. Pardon me if Karl Rove is the last person I want to hear an opinion from on whether anyone should be commenting on an "ongoing investigation."

Here he is on this weekend's Fox News Sunday, attacking President Obama for daring to point out that former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton did nothing to put national security in jeopardy when he was asked about their drummed up so-called email "scandal," and pulling out the Lois Lerner and New Black Panther Party cards in an attempt to paint the Obama Department of Justice as being political.

WALLACE: President Obama in our exclusive interview doubling down on his defense of Hillary Clinton in the private e-mail scandal.

And it's time now for our Sunday group: syndicated columnist George Will, Anne Gearan of The Washington Post, GOP strategist Karl Rove, and Bob Woodward, also from The Washington Post.

Karl, I want to start with the president's comments about Hillary Clinton. I got to say, I was surprised that he even got into this given the investigation. But he wanted to basically to defend her again against the allegation that she somehow jeopardized national security with her private e-mail server. At the same time, he said this investigation by the FBI, the position by the justice department will be made on legal grounds, not political.

Do you see a contradiction there?

KARL ROVE, FORMER BUSH WHITE HOUSE ADVISER: Yes, I do. He should have stepped away from this and not commented on it. But he did. He was offering the first defense of Hillary Clinton.

It was unintentional and it really wasn't important information, because as you know, there is classified and then will is classified. It was really inappropriate I think for the chief executive of the United States to comment on an ongoing FBI investigation.

Secondly, I don't feel particularly comforted by his follow-up which was, of courses, it’s not going to be political because that's not how the Justice Department operates. Well, the American people have a great deal of concern about how this particular administration's Justice Department operates.

After all, Lois Lerner is out there free and clear after clearly abusing her powers at the IRS. And this administration started off by dropping the investigation and charges that had been filed against the Black Panther Party which was on videotape harassing voters at the polls in Philadelphia in 2008 and was all political.

So, the president may have tried -- wanted to re -- to sort of reassure the American people it will be all done on the up and up. But this administration needs to understand they're not starting from a position where people assume that that's what's going to happen.

Rove should know all about politicizing the Department of Justice from his days in the Bush administration. Never mind that though. We're supposed to believe that two of their other fake scandals, The New Black Panther Party and their witch hunt of Lois Lerner, prove that it's the Obama D.O.J. that's politicized.

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