Comments (75)

jdw wrote on March 26, 2007 7:34 PM:

One wonders why Fredo is doing PR spin doctoring in advance of another trip to Congress. Is this to give the people who will testify this week the new Company Story to try to follow?

Mark F. wrote on March 26, 2007 7:40 PM:

"But just to be sure, I've asked the Office of Professional Responsibility at the department to look into this. And — they will be working, along with the Office of Inspector General, to make it clear and reassure the American people that nothing improper happened here."

It makes me feel a lot better to know that the Office of Professional Responsibility is on the case. Not only will they be looking into this, but they already know--before they've looked into it--that their job is to reassure the American people that nothing improper happened. It's nice when you know where an investigation is headed before it even starts...

LTO wrote on March 26, 2007 7:41 PM:

"That's their story, and I'm sticking it to them."

Robin Michael wrote on March 26, 2007 7:43 PM:

jdw: Yes, Fredo seems awfully chatty w/the press, considering the hawt water he's in. I'd think the administration would absolutely muzzle him. It strikes me as a sign that Bush still has no intention of backing down on the matter of requesting his resignation.

JT in Seattle wrote on March 26, 2007 7:47 PM:

The headline of this clip whould read "Fredo Throws Sampson Under Congressional Bus."

Mike Conwell wrote on March 26, 2007 7:49 PM:

"I asked for their resignation not for improper reasons."

I'm confused. Where is his most recent, definitive statement where he says "I asked for their resignation because of ____________________"

Giant Teapot wrote on March 26, 2007 7:50 PM:

Abu is the last firewall between the White House and the gathering tsunami of scandals. The fact that he has not yet resigned means that they want to keep him around as long as possible and pin as much of this on him as possible, so that when he does resign, Rove can try to spin it as "all over."

Abu to Pete Williams: "[The Office of Professional Responsibility] will be working, along with the Office of Inspector General, to make it clear and reassure the American people that nothing improper happened here."

Hahahaha.

Oh pleeeease let Kyle testify on Thursday. I think he'll take the Fifth any moment now, but I pray he thinks he's smart enough to testify.

Hank Essay wrote on March 26, 2007 7:50 PM:

Depends on what the definition of "in" is:

"I was not involved in the deliberations during the process as to who-- who should or should not be — asked to resign."

jdw wrote on March 26, 2007 7:51 PM:

Robin - I tend to agree that I expectd him to be muzzled. It seemed he was sent off the farm the last week or so to get him out of the sunshine. This, on the other hand, is an invite to those nice folks at NBC. Given how much else of this story (along with every other story out of the WH) is so cleary been on talking points, you have to think everything out of his mouth is the current Company Story. It would appear to be an attempt to get it out at the front end of the week's news cycle, heading into Sampson's testimony.

ww wrote on March 26, 2007 7:51 PM:

Apparently Justice truly is blind.

jab wrote on March 26, 2007 7:54 PM:

The absurdity of it all is embarassing. Set aside the man's incompetence and potential corruption in terms of running DOJ. From a strictly political standpoint, the man stumbles from one ineptitude from the other. I would think that even a hack would need to be an accomplished liar in order to ascend to such an office.

There is almost guaranteed to be no "smoking gun" or hard evidence of impropriety. Any marginally competent policital operative should have been able to parse and obfuscate this into a non-story weeks ago.

Alberto is the gift that keeps on giving

Gadfly wrote on March 26, 2007 7:55 PM:

Gonzales' "word" cannot be trusted-- for he is, like all of the Bushies, a bald-faced liear.

This is all about Karl Rove's 1000-Year Neo-Fascist Reich:--

For really, it's pretty obvious why the eight U.S. Attorneys were fired:--

* Rove was angry over the results of the 2006 mid-terms, putting the Democrats in control of both houses of Congress.

* Rove learnt that his snake-oil-replete-with-fear was past its' sell-by date, and wasn't being bought by Americans disgusted with criminal garbage like Duke Cunningham, Tommy-boy DeLay, and the likes of Cheney & Idiot-Bush.

* Rove wanted to rig the U.S. Attorneys and our Justice System, like he rigs elections. And, he had Alberto "Torture Guy" Gonzales to collaborate in his crimes.

But, what's just as interesting a question-- is not why were the eight U.S. Attorneys fired-- but, instead, just how the eight replacement U.S. Attorneys were hired.

Does anybody notice that the master spin-meisters in the White House have duped us yet again. We're so fixated on the firing and we're ignoring the hiring-- hiring of U.S. Attorneys who are mediocre hacks, who could not pass Senatorial Confirmation-- so the corrupt traitors Bush & Gonzales abused the Patriot Act (i.e. treason) to take a provision (secretly inserted, but which is supposed to be used in instances of national security) permitting the executive to bypass the confirmation process, in cases of emergency, to cynically exploit this for political purposes.

My questions are:--

* Who authorized the abuse of the Patriot Act to bypass Senatorial confirmation? Bush, Rove, Gonzales, etc.?

* Where and/or what was the national emergency that justified hiring their 8 U.S. Attorney hacks, willing to ignore criminal wrong-doings of Republicans- persecute Democrats- and, rig elections-- by bypassing Senatorial confirmation?

* And, what can be done to fire those 8 U.S. Attorney hacks and to re-instate the 8 U.S. Attorneys fired because they refused to become Bush's sluts (like Gonzales, Rice, Miers, etc.)?

Until these questions are answered-- we're only fixated, to Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rove & Gonzales' PLEASURE, on half of the crime!

jd wrote on March 26, 2007 8:02 PM:

"Depends on what the definition of 'in' is."

Brilliant, Hank.

Jacob Davies wrote on March 26, 2007 8:06 PM:

Shorter Alberto Gonzales: "I will be firing myself when I find out that my replacement of those prosecutors was politically-motivated."

bb wrote on March 26, 2007 8:12 PM:

This AG couldn't speak the truth is was kicked up his ass and out of his mouth!! This AG needs to be impeached and disbarred, NOW!!!

Ebbet wrote on March 26, 2007 8:13 PM:

Pretty clear the current talking point is that the resignations weren't meant to interfere with any existing investigation. But that particular improper motive has been alleged only with regard to Lam.

At least two other firings look like punishment for failing to pursue investigations of Democrats. And the remainders could have been meant simply to put team-players in place before the 2008 elections.

All of these purposes are incredibly improper. But all you hear is the Administration trying to shift focus to the "ongoing investigations" motive. Next step would be to say, "and look! only one of the eight was involved in any significant ongoing investigation. So, nothing wrong here."

observor wrote on March 26, 2007 8:16 PM:

I want to know if Ted Olson had conversartions or emails with DOJ or White House about Deborah Yang joining him at Gibson Dunn, which represents Jerry Lewis? The timing is suspicious. This could not have happened in a vacuum. DiFi is on to something

Giant Teapot wrote on March 26, 2007 8:22 PM:

bb said: "This AG needs to be impeached and disbarred, NOW!!"

The more flack and outrage Gonzales can draw towards himself, the more he draws it away from the White House. That's the only purpose I can discern from his absurdly self-incriminating NBC interview.

Kathy wrote on March 26, 2007 8:22 PM:

SO! How is the Dusty Foggo investigation going these days? And the Jerry Lewis investigation?

Kathy wrote on March 26, 2007 8:23 PM:

SO! How is the Dusty Foggo investigation going these days? And the Jerry Lewis investigation? I'd be thrilled if a reporter asked Mr. Gonzales those questions.

Michael Caine wrote on March 26, 2007 8:25 PM:

He lied in the interview. He didn't ask the OPR to review the case. Congress and the Inspector General did. He didn't order the 3000+ document dump. Again Congress had tell them to turn them over.

za wrote on March 26, 2007 8:25 PM:

So, Alberto, just one more question. If you don't know any of the details, becasue you weren't involved in the nitty-gritty, then how can you possibly say that you are SURE they were not fired for improper reasons?

Take your time.

Dab wrote on March 26, 2007 8:28 PM:

This guy is just so disingenuous. Whatever happened, it happened on his watch. To blame others for his lack of control of his office and those working for him is the epitome of arrogance. Of course he has a great teacher...the decider himself.

USAs hold an extremely important position in our government. The decision making of the hiring and firing of these USAs should never have been handed off so haphazardly to others. This AG should have been right in the middle of the whole process. He has been derelict in his duties, and more so than any excuse that has been given for the firing of these 8 USAs.

Mr. Gonzales, you've done a lot wrong.

Jack wrote on March 26, 2007 8:33 PM:

It was reported earlier this evening that Gonzales's aide Monica Goodling, who helped coordinate the firings, will take the 5th amendment when called before the Senate panel.

It's highly unlikely that Gonzales is capable of exercising the duties of his office, now that members of his own staff are taking the 5th and Senators are accusing him of felony perjury. He's not going to be appointing any Special Counsels to investigate himself, especially with Patrick Fitzgerald's surprise victory against Scooter Libby.

Unless Congress impeaches him or enacts a new Independent Counsel statute, Americans will lose respect for the federal justice system. Congress should think long and hard before allowing the "Bushies" to push us further down the slippery slope to 3rd world country status.

cal wrote on March 26, 2007 8:36 PM:

My all-time favorite Gonzalez quote:

"What else do you want us to do?"

He really doean't know! He's done exactly as ordered by his bosses all along and simply does not understand why he is still being questioned. Telling the truth or having independent thought is beyond his capabilities.

[quote here: http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002728.php]

foggylady wrote on March 26, 2007 8:41 PM:

"I would never have asked for their resignations to interfere with a public corruption case or in any way to interfere with an ongoing investigation. I just wouldn't do that. "

When he says I just wouldn't do that..
deja v anyone?

As for using resignations to interefere with a corruption case, until now I had missed this:
( from Army Times)

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has subpoenaed Maj. Gen. George Weightman, who was fired as head of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, after Army officials refused to allow him to testify before the committee Monday.
Committee Chairman Henry Waxman and subcommittee Chairman John Tierney asked Weightman to testify about an internal memo that showed privatization of services at Walter Reed could put “patient care services? at risk of mission failure.”
But Army officials refused to allow Weightman to appear before the committee after he was relieved of command.

Paul in Brooklyn wrote on March 26, 2007 8:42 PM:

And isn't it chilling how much the AG sounds like his boss, when the president pledged to get to the bottom of who leaked a covert CIA operative's name and how anyone found to be involved would no longer be a part of the Administration? Anything to cool the situation down for another few news cycles.
I'd say Once burned, Twice shy. But this Administration has burned the public so often, and so profoundly, that the entire country is getting shy. Or 70% of it, so far.
Gonzales is just the latest reason why this president has had a record (or near record) 60 percentage-point decline in his approval rating. He still has 22 months to get alienate the remaining 30%.

r€nato wrote on March 26, 2007 8:46 PM:

Thank goodness Bush is so stubborn. I'm really enjoying this. Please, please, please, Chimpy McCodpiece - drag this out even longer.

It's gonna be fun to see whether he can break through that 30% floor.

H3 wrote on March 26, 2007 9:01 PM:

SO! How is the Dusty Foggo investigation going these days? And the Jerry Lewis investigation?

That's what I'd like to know.

Security Code:wind

EndTheNationalNightmare wrote on March 26, 2007 9:01 PM:

They're banking on the American public not being smart enough to see them for the gangsters that they are. And they plan on using selected members of the media to peddle their bs. But I have faith in my fellow Americans. People are quickly wising up to these criminals.

Buck wrote on March 26, 2007 9:19 PM:

The REAL story isn't the eight that got fired.

The real story is why they kept who they kept. This thing has got a long way to go before it's over.

Keep your eye on the ball and remember where the goal line is.

See:

http://badattitudes.com/MT/archives/2007/03/bush_justice.html

Whidbeygrl wrote on March 26, 2007 9:25 PM:

I kid you not..
this job is posted at the " Official JobSite of the Federal Government" below:

SENIOR COUNSEL TO THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

SALARY RANGE: 111,676.00 - 154,600.00 USD per year OPEN PERIOD: Friday, March 02, 2007
to Friday, March 30, 2007

http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/

I was looking to see if Kyle Sampson's position was listed...gotta ask Gonzo or somebody bout that....snark

chuckles wrote on March 26, 2007 9:36 PM:

I'll bet Monkey-Boy is getting nervous in the White House and for Porky, one could only hope he ends up hanging out with Tom Delay back in Texas...chuckle chuckle

DF wrote on March 26, 2007 9:40 PM:

And the double talk award goes to Ms. Dana Perino, who had the pleasure of filling in for Press Secretary Tony Snow today. (get well soon Tony) Here she explains how AG Gonzales could attend a meeting discussing the firings and still managed to know nothing.

MS. PERINO: I think what he's referring to -- and, again, I'm going to refer you to Justice Department for exactly what his thinking is, but when he says he doesn't recall having recollections about having deliberative discussions about the ongoing process over that two-year period, but that he does take responsibility for signing off on the final plan.

Why are these people worried about a transcript? Even when you write down what they say it is indecipherable.

melior wrote on March 26, 2007 9:41 PM:

Alert the weapons inspectors -- they've uncovered another cache of plausible deniability!

jhpearman wrote on March 26, 2007 9:45 PM:

Great question Kathy

freddy simon wrote on March 26, 2007 9:58 PM:

the white house confirms that the president talked to gonzales about the da's but gonzales does not recall that conversation. this is an exact replica of libbys' russert strategy. invent a timeline that insulates the top tier. gonzales admits that domenici called him about iglesias. did domenici call the executive office with the same complaint? perhaps this was the subject bush discussed with gonzales? a senator complains to the ag and wh about a da who will not reveal the status of a case. the da gets fired. no wonder the wh is shitting its' pants.

Robin L. Boerner wrote on March 26, 2007 10:05 PM:

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has subpoenaed Maj. Gen. George Weightman, who was fired as head of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, after Army officials refused to allow him to testify before the committee Monday.
Committee Chairman Henry Waxman and subcommittee Chairman John Tierney asked Weightman to testify about an internal memo that showed privatization of services at Walter Reed could put “patient care services? at risk of mission failure.”
But Army officials refused to allow Weightman to appear before the committee after he was relieved of command.

Posted by: foggylady
Date: March 26, 2007 08:41 PM

Now this is plausible, send him to a war zone (and Bush has created a few) and claim he is unavailable because: he is in a war zone.

Those privatization contracts lead right to Cheney's office. Better hope the dear general likes hot sandy places with nightly fireworks shows. At least until a Democrat gets in and brings the troops home.

parrot wrote on March 26, 2007 10:14 PM:

Either AG AG knew what was going on and sought to avoid responsibility for that while testifying before the Congress of the United States...or he is incompetent to be Attorney General of these United States. So, Congress, which is it?

Mark Richards wrote on March 26, 2007 10:18 PM:

I thought Reno was a loser and Mr. Talk in Tongues Ashkropft was a boozer. Our Mr. Arrogance takes the cake as a total loser.

Why does this nation have such a string of idiots running its "justice" system? (Some connection with a string of really stupid administrations?)

Question: does the current "Justice" department actually have any useful function to perform? Has it been transformed, like every other agency, into a harassment and political/idealogical power tool of the current mal-administration?

Here in Boston, long before the mal-administration splattered itself all over America, the DOJ was a cesspool of corrupt dealing with organized crime. They are clearly responsible for several gangland executions, sanctioned and covered up by their agents. Whitey Bulger, it's alleged, would be behind bars today if it wasn't for a corrupt friend or two who saunter around with a badge.

Apparently trying to make less of a splash than his colleagues, the former head of the US Marshall Service in Boston was fired when a Boston Globe investigation found that his claimed working hours versus actual time on the job had some serious discrepancies. Makes me wonder if the once fine line between the law and criminals has vanished entirely, providing you carry the proper RNC credentials. Not to worry. Yet another republican will be installed as the next Marshall. Reid Hillman won't be at the public feeding troth as Massachusetts Lt. Governor, but let not losing an election (severely) stop the cashflow. Justice demands that he remain on the public dime. So Hillman's all lined up and at the ready, unless the Senate sends him packing. I think Hillman ought to apply, instead, for a job with the Boston Police. Districts like Roxbury and Dorchester need brave Men in Blue to keep people from shooting each other to death. It's dangerous, but it's honest work.

I should think a complete flushing of the entire mess, from Washington, DC to every district, is in order before more innocents get dragged down and more criminals go free.

Will Congress put the whole thing into receivership and clean it up? Not likely. My bet is that, as corrupt as the whole mess is, it suits them just fine, too.

ding7777 wrote on March 26, 2007 10:31 PM:

Gonzales has signaled that all incriminating documentation has been shredded, so Kyle can perjure himself without fear. And this is the spin Kyle should use.

1. resignations were "not for improper reasons"
(tell them anything like voter fraud, death penalty, immigration, etc but do not tell the truth)

2. none of the resignations interfered with public corruption cases (all corruption cases are still being persued)

3. none of the resignations interfered with on going investigations (ditto)

hungrycoyote wrote on March 26, 2007 10:31 PM:

Did ya'll see this?

Embattled AG now accused in teen sex scandal 'cover-up' - Attorney General Gonzales among officials who allegedly ignored abuse of minor boys

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54861

Johnsnottoodistracted wrote on March 26, 2007 10:46 PM:

"As I've indicated, I've asked OPR to be involved, to work with the Office of Inspector General so we can reassure the American public that nothing improper happened here."
Why are these people creating spin? Is this their job?
I guess g-man is conceding the "American public" are not reassured by his own non-factual word combos.
How could this be?
When you are doing your job correctly you really have no need to tell people.Hey,look at me! I'm OK! Can't you tell? I'm a good guy! Come on,really people.

Giant Teapot wrote on March 26, 2007 10:46 PM:

@ Mark Richards:

Got any leads or links on those USMS shenanigans? The 94 U.S. Marshals positions, like U.S. Attorneys, are direct Presidential appointments, and used as big plums for home state Senators to tee up the appointments. In other words, fertile ground for corruption. Tales of outrageous Marshal conduct were a dime a dozen pre-Clinton.

(Clinton tried to change the U.S. Marshal jobs to non-political appointments, but Senators weren't having any of that. Nevertheless Clinton insisted on appointing mostly Marshals who had actual law enforcement experience! A crazy reality-based practice I doubt that GWB continued.)

Sully18 wrote on March 26, 2007 10:47 PM:

I would like to see the shredded emails almost as much as I would like to see the steel debris from the WTC, and count the votes from Florida again.These criminal vermin have been raising the baseline tolerance level for violence and corruption in government since day one of the Bush et., al. fiasco de la coup d`etat
What these folks model for our children is indeed alarming.

georgia wrote on March 26, 2007 10:51 PM:

Is everyone ignoring the fact that the simple act of asking for their resignations was itself improper???

Even with the Section 546 changes made under the PATRIOT Act Reathorization, Section 541 still applies:

541. United States attorneys

(a) The President shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a United States attorney for each judicial district.

(b) Each United States attorney shall be appointed for a term of four years. On the expiration of his term, a United States attorney shall continue to perform the duties of his office until his successor is appointed and qualifies.

(c) Each United States attorney is subject to removal by the President[!!!!!!! Not the Attorney General!!!!!]

oldtree wrote on March 26, 2007 10:56 PM:

Does the AG not have the same track record as bushwa? where nothing he has ever said has been true? He is on the 4th set of lies at this point, now diverting the hit from bushwa?
this doesn't compare to nixon's DOJ related crimes, yet still nothing from congress. truly amazing

jdw wrote on March 26, 2007 11:40 PM:

I agree with the comment made above. This is the story that folks have to get Congress to chase:

http://badattitudes.com/MT/archives/2007/03/bush_justice.html

The Times hasn't been the only one to report on it. The problem is that it's getting glossed over.

I don't know if the Judiciary Committees have the stomach to chase it down. It really is something that needs to be waved under Waxie's nose because it would send him through the roof, and he's likely know the right buttons to push among his peers.

FWIW, Justice is the tip of the iceberg of the politicalization across the board in the Admin over the past six years. The DOL is the same, but flies under the radar. Homeland Security is a hell hole of this type of stuff. We know about DOD.

Tim O. wrote on March 26, 2007 11:44 PM:

Why has the term "Mayberry Machiavellis" not resurfaced lately? These guys are running the White House like Boss Hogg and the bumbling deputys!

Schumer and Leahy should git themselves an orange hot rod with an American Flag on top for sporting around in DC.

comadrejo wrote on March 26, 2007 11:57 PM:

I am getting a sense that Attorney General Gonzales is punting this upstairs, because he is saying "I would never fire an attorney because of a corruption case", well guess what? both Iglesias and McKay were fired because they didn't pursue allege corruption cases. (The Washington State Republicans are adamant that King County Board of Elections was taking something on the side)

He is sort of implying that he "personally wouldn't fire an US Attorney" for political reasons, which kind of points that the White House were the one that gave the orders to do this.

No matter what he should tendered his resignation, he has obstructed Congressional Oversight, pretty much lied under oath, lied about lying, and his stupid USA Today Editorial should have gotten him fired, then and there. This is little "overblown personnel matter" has shown has badly DOJ has been run under Gonzales. We still don't have an answer to why 7 of the 8 Attorneys were fired, just half assed explanations.

He can't repeat the same talking points over and over again to think that it will help him, he is toast, and should resign, but if he thinks he is going to survive, he needs the White House to admit to their role in the firings, which given how Monica Goodling is pleading the Fifth for her testimony, shows that they don't want anything to with the PR campaign.

Giant Teapot wrote on March 27, 2007 12:17 AM:

I wanna see a Youtube mashup of Alberto spinning his ever-changing talking points, set to "Let the Eagle Soar" sung by John Ashcroft.

Who thought Ashcroft could look so good in comparison?

Steve Hendricks wrote on March 27, 2007 12:38 AM:

I'm confused. I thought the minimum qualification for being Attorney General was, well, being an attorney. You know, one of those guys who understands that the words you speak have consequences. Someone who understands that standing up in front of people and claiming something is "true" qualifies as evidence for or against the speaker.

Given this unbelievable performance, I can't imagine anyone hiring the guy to draft a will or close on a house.

When he was confirmed I thought his claim that the Constitution does not guarantee the right to habeas corpus but only that it could not be rescinded except in times of war or rebellion to be some sort of bizarre Federalist Society talking point. I'm now convinced the poor schlub doesn't know what habeas corpus is.

Somebody needs to put him out of his misery. He makes Michael Brown look like an intellectual giant.

Mrs Panstreppon wrote on March 27, 2007 12:39 AM:

Gonzales could get tripped up in the Weldon case. Two weeks after an 11/27/97 Philadelphia Inquirer story came out about Curt Weldon's associate, John J. Gallagher's involvement in a scheme to defraud the DOE, Gonzales visited the Delaware County courthouse in Media PA and met with Delco district attorney and USA-EDPA Pat Meehan.

Weldon, Weldon's daughter, Gallagher and GOP honcho Charles P. Sexton are all under investigation by the DOJ.

Some people not associated with the DOJ have been covering the Weldon investigation and if Gonzales tries to cover it up, he could be in trouble.

matt rose wrote on March 27, 2007 1:20 AM:

There is an OPR investigation ongoing. . . Did anyone catch whether we asked the AG if those investigators will be fired if they find that the White House wanted honest prosecuters gone because they kept prosecuting guilty Republicans?

Can we revive the story of CIA personel being fast tracked to the top for turning in reports that guaranteed WMD in Iraq?

Hmmmmmm wrote on March 27, 2007 1:25 AM:

They'll need an A Bomb to dig the hole under the jail for where they are gonna stick this sucker.

rasher wrote on March 27, 2007 2:04 AM:

AG Gonzales:

"Let — let me just say — a wise senator recently told me that when you say something that is either being misunderstood or can be misunderstood, you need to try to correct the record and make the record clear."

I'll bet that wise senator was Arlen Specter who mentioned Sunday on Meet the Press that he spoke with the AG on Saturday. Hmm... I wonder if he took the time to coach him on his upcoming testimony.

mbbsdphil wrote on March 27, 2007 2:07 AM:

Mr. Bush would do well to consider JFK's comment in his inaugural speech: “… civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.”

I imagine JFK had the Soviets in mind, as well as diehard Republicans who thought he would be soft on them. But then, JFK thought there were limits to his country's resources and his authority as President, if not to his libido.

Congress has a legitimate right to know; it is not his dad looking for knickers or cocaine in the back seat of the convertible. This is about the proper running of the US Govt and its Dept of Justice. Mr. Bush cannot be allowed to stonewall as if he were protecting the records of the Committee to Re-elect the President.

Giant Teapot wrote on March 27, 2007 2:25 AM:

mbbsdphil said, "it is not his dad looking for knickers or cocaine in the back seat of the convertible. This is about the proper running of the US Govt and its Dept of Justice."

Indeed. It disgusts me to see the MSM and legal bloggers rolling their eyes and saying, "Oh don't be so naive. It's just politics as usual. Democrats do the same thing. Whoever's in power abuses that power." No they don't. Not like this. It's the Department of Justice. That should mean something.

Look what broke *just today* about corruption in the GSA and the Pat Tillman cover-up. The Grand Unified Scandal Theory of Republican misdeeds is not paranoia, it's probably an underestimation of the hubris behind it.

melior wrote on March 27, 2007 3:28 AM:

Richard Schmitt, in the LA Times today:

"[Gonzales] also acknowledged that he had contacts on separate occasions with President Bush and Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.) over the performance of certain prosecutors..."

This the first I recall seeing Bush being implicated directly in the firings. The wall of plausible deniability is crumbling.

Merlin wrote on March 27, 2007 7:17 AM:

All of this aside - and certainly not to minimize what has happened with the A/USAs - but wait until the blowback hits from the FBI national security letter abuse the DoJ IG has uncovered.

nofltwlt wrote on March 27, 2007 8:09 AM:

Gonzales has done EVERYTHING wrong. The fact that he did some awful things and now claims not to have done anything wrong means he is unqualified as AG.

Michael wrote on March 27, 2007 8:24 AM:

Think about this. The U.S. attorney from Little Rock, Arkansas was replaced with a Rove protoge. My understanding is that that Rove protoge was in charge of opposition research for the Bush 2004 presidential campaign. Opposition research is basically digging up dirt on your opponent. Now that he is in Little Rock with subpoena power, who do you think he will be trying to dig up dirt on? You guessed it. This appointment is about discrediting Hillary Clinton for her White House Bid. Makes sense, and it is just exactly what anti-patriots like the Bush administration would do.

Buck wrote on March 27, 2007 9:05 AM:

If anyone is wondering what Specter is up to today, wonder no more! Baseball! Shilling for Comcast.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070327/sports_hearing_ahead_of_the_bell.html?.v=1

Specter has a hand in all this.

3G_P wrote on March 27, 2007 9:37 AM:

Not that NJ is the 'straight and narrow' state, but the USA Chris Christie has been on a fishing expedition in Hudson/Union Counties lately (Sen. Menendez support base). http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-11/1174973493319130.xml&coll=1

The USA has also netted some other big fish in the state recently, though they were corrupt and found or pleaded guilty. It looks more and more like the USA was ordered to break up the Democratic strangle hold on NJ politics.

I wonder what the other USA's are doing in other Democratic leaning jurisdictions...

fnordboy wrote on March 27, 2007 9:46 AM:

It is interesting to me that Gonzales, et al, keep making reference to the documents that they have released, saying that those documents reveal no DOJ wrongdoing. As the Muckraker crew's examination of these documents shows, they are hardly exculpatory. However, it is my understanding that these documents were not disclosed pursuant to a subpoena, but rather under _threat_ of subpoena. Clearly, these are only the documents that DOJ/WH have determined are "safe" to disclose -- with so much smoke, there are clearly additional docs that are on fire (hopefully not literally - good on Waxman to finally send the email-retention letters to the RNC and the Bush/Cheney '04).

3G_P wrote on March 27, 2007 9:52 AM:

I think that the real story is the use of the RNC email servers by the executive branch (and probably Republican legislators). It's an easy story for the public to understand.

Why was the WH trying to avoid record-keeping requirements? Why would you do such a thing? Either you’re a) hiding illegal activities or b) you're goofing off at work and not doing your job. The public would 'get' violating national security protocols (if they were or were not, the public would probably assume that there is a national security dimension/eavesdropping risk from foreign governments).

The real reason why the WH is stalling on releasing WH email is that there is none (or very little). Try to explain to the public that 'we're really working hard' and there is no record of you emailing anything (officially recorded). Target the WH email records for Sep '05 and see if Katrina or New Orleans is even mentioned. Then have them try to explain the RNC accounts.

If I were Waxman, I would subpoena yahoo, msn, google, blackberry and the rest of the other email providers. But you know that Rove, et. al. has already changed up and is two steps ahead without a paper trail.

The Fool wrote on March 27, 2007 9:55 AM:

"I would never have asked for their resignations to interfere with a public corruption case or in any way to interfere with an ongoing investigation. I just wouldn't do that."

Gonzales can't keep his lies straight. As someone above pointed out, he says he wasn't really the one asking for resignations - it was his underlings who made the choices.

How can he be sure they weren't fired for political reasons when he supposedly doesn't know the details of how they were chosem?

devaflowers wrote on March 27, 2007 10:18 AM:

Does anyone have an email address for the Senate judiciary committee? I can't seem to find one on their website. Thanks

tomg wrote on March 27, 2007 10:26 AM:

Be a man fall on your sword

Robin L. Boerner wrote on March 27, 2007 12:09 PM:

When he was confirmed I thought his claim that the Constitution does not guarantee the right to habeas corpus but only that it could not be rescinded except in times of war or rebellion to be some sort of bizarre Federalist Society talking point. I'm now convinced the poor schlub doesn't know what habeas corpus is.

Somebody needs to put him out of his misery. He makes Michael Brown look like an intellectual giant.

Posted by: Steve Hendricks
Date: March 27, 2007 12:38 AM

It was like watching Eddie Izzard last night in the Riches. An Irish Travelor that BS's his way into a top corporate law job. He doesn't even know what eminent domain is.

Only I don't think Abu Gonzales is as fast on his feet or as amusing to watch. Just a sad little man with a big ego.

One thing about arrogance and hubris, people are pleased to see you eventually burn.

Aaron G. Stock wrote on March 27, 2007 12:28 PM:

And here's a Hispanic group that probably won't be supporting Gonzales:
Los Lobos, "High Places", from This Time:

(2x)
The trouble with being in high places
When you fall nobody picks you up

Cause you acted like a big shot
So what happened to the big shot
So what happened to the big shot
You thought you were a real big shot

Richard L. Adlof wrote on March 27, 2007 4:29 PM:

hungrycoyote on March 26, 2007 10:31 PM,

Thank you clearing up what Gone-lawless meant by his 'What about the childern' remark. I was sure it was torture/destruction of the human soul related.

nofltwlt wrote on March 27, 2007 5:34 PM:

Again, these chimps just don't do well at coverup. Blaming his staff is absolutely fabulous since his staff will fry is lying little latino ass.

Also, if there is a computer hacker out there capable of finding kiddy porn on Gonzale's computer, please take a look. I think he may be covering something else up as well. He just reminds one of someone who gets off on kiddy porn.

Jerry Sneirson wrote on March 27, 2007 11:09 PM:

I think that John Q. Public has finally taken enough whacks to the head with the proverbial two by four to finally get his attention.

Daniel Kinoy wrote on March 28, 2007 1:20 AM:

We refer to the AG as Alberto "Torquey" Gonzales. That goes along with Dick "Pump Action" Cheney and Carl "Thousand Year" Rove.