Karl Rove to speak at King County Republicans' dinner

White House adviser Karl Rove will be the guest speaker at a King County Republicans dinner next month.

The annual Lincoln Day Dinner is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the Hilton Seattle Airport and Conference Center in Sea-Tac on April 14. Rove will give the keynote speech and participate in a round-table discussion.

King County GOP Chairman Michael Young said Tuesday that he doesn't know what Rove plans to say, but expects him to focus his remarks on the future of the Republican Party.

"In the past, when he's come out to do these kinds of things, they're very optimistic, forward-looking speeches for the most part," Young said.

That Rove is coming "shows a commitment of the national party to our state and our county," he said.

The dinner will cost $50 for precinct committee officers and their guests, and $100 for others. Tickets for the dinner plus an hourlong private reception and photograph with Rove cost $250 per person.

House and Senate panels have authorized subpoenas to force Rove and other presidential advisers to testify under oath about the White House's role in the recent firings of eight U.S. attorneys. President Bush has offered to let Rove and others answer lawmakers' questions in private, not under oath.