It’s not every day that a U.S. attorney general threatens to prosecute a newspaper over a story, thank goodness. But Alberto Gonzales rattled that saber Sunday at The New York Times, over the newspaper’s revelation of the Bush administration’s domestic spying. An editorial in today’s Times notes that Gonzales’ "claim that a century-old espionage law could be used to muzzle the press" signals "the administration cares about enforcing laws the way Congress intended." If so, the editorial drily concludes, Gonzales "could suggest that the administration follow Congress’ clear and specific intent for the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: outlawing wiretaps of Americans without warrants." Sounds like a plan.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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9 Comments
I think the Supreme Court has ruled seversl times against cases similar to the ones that Gonzales seems to want to bring against the media.
However, his threats will give them something to cry about for a while.
Hank
The NY Times is the biggest and easiest target for government officials who don’t like it when their evil doings are exposed. The Times survives, and the officials fade away – to private life, or to prison. Gonzales is just another hotdog who will fade away soon.
Rhonda,
If only the President were wiretpaing Americans without a warrant…
You might have a point.
Try to do your job as a so called journalist and do some research.
Gonzo is a pitiful affirmative action beaner who is doing the evil bidding of his master, shrub! The evil ones like to hide behind compliant minorities like gonzo and rice as a shield, pathetic.
viva La raza Blanco!!!
Steven Aftergood’s take on the leak question:
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2006_hr/052606aftergood.pdf
There reasonable possibility that Mr. Gonzales benefited from Democrat-Party-championed Affirmative Action. According to Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Gonzales
he admitted to Wolf Blitzer that there is no documentation for his grandparents’ immigration, and therefore they MAY have been illegal immigrants. No documentation. MAY have been illegal immigrants?
He attended MacArthur High in Houston. According to the School Report
http://www.homefair.com/homefair/servlet/ActionServlet?pid=40&previousPage=41&cid=homefair&reportState=TX&countyid=23&to=%2Fservlet%2FActionServlet%3Fpid%3D40%26homefair&toOrig=null&district1=2302&district2=&district3=&userid=-1&countryname=United+States+of+America&firstname=&lastname=&address1=&address2=&city=&country=United+States+of+Americ
only 35% of MacArthur’s graduates go to 4-year colleges, from hs, which is to say that 2 out of 3 MacArthur graduates DON’T go directly to 4-year universities. No National Merit Scholarship Finalists or Semifinalists.
So this honors graduate went into the Air Force for two years. Apparently, graduating with honors from MacArthur high wasn’t respected by colleges. (The 1968 valedictorian didn’t make National Honors Society, the salutatorian went to Texas Baptist College which is unaccredited. MacArthur published bits of its 1968 yearbook, which can be seen online at http://www1.aldine.k12.tx.us/schools/websites/macsr/alumni.htm
After serving as an enlisted man Gonzales went to the Air Force Academy, then transferred to Rice, then went to Harvard Law School.
Let’s see his SAT and LSAT scores. Call it a hunch, but I’d give 10:1 odds that his SAT and LSAT were in the bottom quartile of his classes, and conjecture that he is a beneficiary of Affirmative Action.
He then went to work for Vinson & Elkins, a famous law firm that represents Halliburton, and used to represent Enron.
Bush’s first Supreme Court nominee, Harriet Miers, said that GWB was the smartest person she had ever met. Right, a guy with a 1210 SAT who sauced his gray matter for 20 years.
IMO, I think Bush’s legal team is comprised of people who were selected because they were loyal. To be loyal, a prerequisite may have been that they weren’t very smart.
It has been alleged that Mr. Gonzales lied to the Senate, under oath–see Wikipedia– which if true, would make him a criminal perjurer, and morally and legally unfit to be the law-enforcement officer-in-chief for the United States.
In the 2000 campaign, GWB said that Teddy Roosevelt was his favorite president. He also campaigned as a Reaganian conservative. But he seems to me to be looking more like a Nixon-wannabe, albeit not nearly as smart.
Somewhat off topic: Here is a link to an AP story which indicates Cheney may have to testify in Libby’s hearing.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060526/ap_on_go_pr_wh/cia_leak;_ylt=AoOaSYfYrCgZGcx1WLOVQo4b.3QA;_ylu=X3oDMTA4NGRzMjRtBHNlYwMxNjk5
If his testimony is so critical to Libby’s prosecution, one sure has to wonder how Cheney has managed to avoid indictment himself.
This is a .pdf from Fitzgerald’s website which is Libby’s grand jury testimony. The prosecutors want to know many details about what Cheney did and when he did it. It is hard to see how Cheney cannot be an eventual target of this investigation.
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/documents/2006_05_24_government_exhibits_a_c.pdf
This from another Fitzgerald .pdf:
The Vice President – not Mr. Grossman or any of the other potential witnesses whom the defendant seeks additional discovery – specifically directed the defendant to speak to reporters during the week following the publication of the Wilson Op Ed. At the time, the Vice President – rather than potential witnesses – was upset that his personal credibility had been attacked, unfairly in his view.
The whole thing here:http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/documents/2006_05_24_governments_reply.pdf
Fitzgerald is saying that Cheney directed his subordinate, Libby, to break the law. Libby is just step one in the process? Surely Cheney must feel like his testicles are in a vice.