Caught Again

-- Presidential adviser Karl Rove and Kenneth Tomlinson, then chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, discussed creating a ``conservative'' talk show and adding it to the public television lineup, the organization's top investigator said.

Kenneth Konz, inspector general of the nonprofit company that oversees government funding of public TV, said in an interview yesterday that Tomlinson and Rove exchanged e-mails on programming and that Tomlinson also wrote to Rove about ``shaking up'' the agency and recruiting Republican staff.

In a report two days ago, Konz said Tomlinson broke federal laws and internal rules by hiring corporation President Patricia Harrison, a former Republican National Committee co-chairwoman, based on her Republican ties.

Tomlinson also improperly helped develop ``The Journal Editorial Report,'' a conservative talk show, for public TV, the six-month probe found.

The issue was ``the use of political tests that were seeking people from one party or from a conservative viewpoint,'' Konz said yesterday.

Konz said he tried to interview Rove and two other White House officials who engaged in e-mail exchanges with Tomlinson about Harrison's hiring and other matters.

Interviews Refused

Rove, 54, the principal architect of President George W. Bush's political campaigns, has been questioned by a federal grand jury investigating who disclosed the identity of a Central Intelligence Agency operative to reporters.

Tomlinson, 61, resigned from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting earlier this month after a draft of the report was given to the agency's board.