That's what happened, Dale. Or, as many pro-surveillance advocates are apt to say, "If you don't have anything to hide..."

Q: If Karl Rove and Harriett Miers are in fact innocent of these crimes, why are they unwilling to testify to that fact under oath?

A: Because there is copious evidence that they do have something to hide; namely using the US Attorneys office to manipulate elections, and to harass political opponents, for entirely political aims.

Which is a big deal, no matter how you slice it. And you cannot say that these subpoenas are unprecedented, because there is a very recent precedent, namely the dozens and dozens of Clinton White House staffers and appointees who were forced to testify under oath repeatedly, in matters relating to a blowjob and a piddling real estate deal which ended up being an entirely frivolous charge.