Senate Judiciary Chairman subpoenas Karl Rove

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy announced Thursday he had subpoenaed White House adviser Karl Rove and his deputy. He accused them of stonewalling a widening probe into the firing of federal prosecutors.

"The Bush-Cheney White House continues to place great strains on our constitutional system of checks and balances," Leahy said in issuing the subpoenas. "Not since the darkest days of the Nixon Administration have we seen efforts to corrupt federal law enforcement for partisan political gain and such efforts to avoid accountability."

The Judiciary Committee issued subpoenas to Rove and Deputy White House political director J. Scott Jennings. The deadline for testimony and documents is Aug. 2 at 10 a.m.