Rove, Miers set to testify in prosecutor firings

After many attempts with little success, former aides to George W. Bush are finally set to testify before the House Judiciary Committee under closed deposition "under the penalty of perjury." The agreement to testify stems from a scandal during the former president's second term, in which allegations arose over whether or not Rove and Miers were influential in the firing of federal prosecutors.

The prosecutors were released by the Bush administration, but the prosecutors themselves claimed they were fired for not being politically loyal to the president. Some of these very prosecutors publicly testified before congress claiming that they were told they were not investigating Democratic activity (or allegations of Democrats committing fraud), and thus, were fired.

Much time has passed since the allegations first arose, and under the orders of George W. Bush, Rove and Miers refused to testify which led to the Judiciary Committee suing for their testimony. However, a deal has been reached, and they will testify behind closed doors before the committee with the possibility of having to testify publicly. "This is a victory for the separation of powers and congressional oversight," John Conyers (a Democrat from Michigan and the current Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee) said in a statement. "It is also a vindication of the search for truth. I am determined to have it known whether U.S. attorneys in the Department of Justice were fired for political reasons, and if so, by whom."

Now that they are set to testify (privately and possibly publicly):

1. What is to happen if they are found to have been involved in the firings, and the motivation was, indeed, political?
2. If found guilty, should they face serious consequences such as prison time, or simply a large censure?
3. If they are to have been involved, and there is no chance of jail/censure, does this all revert back to being a simple fact-finding mission?
4. Is this the first in a series of steps investigating actions of the former Bush administration? Should investigations also be held regarding other possible illegal/unethical actions?