In a commentary in the Washington Post, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales (in photo) variously states five times that “nothing improper” occurred in the U.S. attorney firings. His only apology is for his “role in allowing this matter to spin into an undignified Washington spectacle.” That spectacle continues in a Thursday hearing (postponed because of the Virginia Tech massacre), with a cast including Gonzales and some steamed senators on the Judiciary Committee. Meanwhile, nearly 6 in 10 Americans polled by Washington Post-ABC News dislike how Gonzales has handled the issue.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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26 Comments
Can’t WAIT to see him squirm.
Oh, right: “the dog ate my homework.” CF2K’s bad.
The firings were not illegal. The fact that he has lied about how they were dismissed is. He is the “top cop” and should be held to account for his actions. He cannot spin his way out of this one. Most evidence shows that the firings were in the works for some time and the fact that the White House will not turnover all the email uncensored is a huge problem. If you have nothing to hide then stop trying to hide sh**!
“Gonzales pleading not guilty”
Rhonda dear; I didn’t know that he was charged with a crime. Should you really be using those terms?
Heh, yeah, outlander . . . just like Scooter Libby, “innocent until PROVEN guilty.”
Well, he was proven guilty.
Chuckle… Oh really? So Gonzales has been charged with a crime? Please give me the specifics Capn. I’m all ears.
Gonzales didn’t handle the matter well but I am really glad that he isn’t groveling. We get too much of that.
Mike-
I agree with parts of your post.
“The firings were not illegal. The fact that he has lied about how they were dismissed is. He is the “top cop” and should be held to account for his actions. He cannot spin his way out of this one”
Agreed. he should be resign, he shuiold be charged, and found guilty/innocent.
The rest of your post, I disagree. The emails are nothing but a witchhunt, in my mind. There is already ample evidence in my mind to convict.
After you got burned so badly on Libby, outlander, I’m surprised your going with the same strategy.
Your phony “Gonzales isn’t guilty of anything” is just more of the same:
Here’s Charles Schumer, throwing down the gauntlet on CSPAN yesterday.
http://www.c-span.org/pdf/schumer_statement.doc“Let me be clear: this is a very, very important hearing. It’s make or break for the Attorney General. Alberto Gonzales is the central figure in this investigation. He is the head of the Justice Department, and he was identified by his former chief of staff as one of the decision makers in dismissing the U.S. Attorneys. Now, the Attorney General has said he wasn’t involved in discussions about the firings, but his former chief of staff says that was an inaccurate statement. We’re certainly going to ask the Attorney General about the contradiction.
That’s not the only contradiction. He also told us that he would never make a U.S. Attorney change for a “political reason.” It’s clear now that he did.
He said that the U.S. Attorneys were dismissed for “performance” reasons. We now know they received outstanding performance evaluations.
Given the contradictions and the importance of trust in the Attorney General’s position as the chief law enforcement officer of the land, the burden of proof is now on Alberto Gonzales.
LittlejohnThe reason for finding the emails would be to find out if anybody else in the administration is involved. I agree that he should resign immediately and if there is evidence of perjury then those charges should be filed. Like I said, the only need for the emails is to ensure nobody in the White House did anything inappropriate.
So he isn’t accused of any crime. Thank you. Good grief, I ask you the time and you tell me how to build a clock.
outlander,
Lying to Congress is a crime. As yet, there’s no “accusation” in the criminal sense.
And looky here: another underline contradicts Gonzales’ “version” of events:
“The former Justice Department official who carried out the firings of eight U.S. attorneys last year told Congress that several of the prosecutors had no performance problems and that a memo on the firings was distributed at a Nov. 27 meeting attended by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, a Democratic senator said yesterday.
The statements to House and Senate investigators by Michael A. Battle, former director of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, represent another potential challenge to the credibility of Gonzales, who has said that he never saw any documents about the firings and that he had “lost confidence” in the prosecutors because of performance problems.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/15/AR2007041500548_pf.html
Tomorrow should be good stuff. But given the catastrophic events this morning at Virginia Tech, the hearings may well disappear down the memory. Or at least the Administration may hope they do.
I think another point in all of this that we are missing is that sometimes the standard of “there wasn’t a crime committed” is inadequate to excuse the behavior of those in this administration.
The U.S. attorneys are political appointments, but in theory, once appointed, their practices are not to be judged in light of political agendas. This latter is clearly a problem with these firings.
As representatives of law enforcement at the highest federal level, Gonzales should not just be merely not committing crimes, he should be above suspicion and clearly that has not been the case for “the Judge” with this scandal.
I believe he will eventually step down, it is a matter of when.
Maybe an analogy will help. Let’s say that I have a female friend who has unprotected intercourse with as many male partners as she can in a given day.
Because she is not charging for her favors, I can assert “no crime was committed” and therefore my friend’s behavior is above reproach.
Like so many things this administration has done, this doesn’t pass the “smell test”. It stinks to high heaven.
With this administration, if it’s not one damn thing, it’s another.
Steven – maybe another analogy: a young woman you know is so enamored of you that she wants to “service” you. You take her up on it. Since “no crime was committed” your behavior is above reproach. (Perhaps you should pay her laundry bill)
I think all this conversation is moot until the Senate sponsored barbecue commences tomorrow.
We’ll find out if Gonzales is served up raw or served up as a crispy critter.
I say he will be served up with salsa….just my opinion
When I watch him speak I feel like he is rather effeminate. Not that there is anything wrong with that…except he tries to act tough.
They postponed the inquiry, guess Gonzalez is needed down in Virginia.
Yeah, outlander, the guy who shot 31 students and them himself isn’t accused of a crime yet either . . .
Good one Capn. Comparing Gonzales to a guy who murdered 32. Still a loony leftist hater I see.
At least he didn’t kill people like Janet Reno did.
Janet Reno didn’t kill anyone; Vernon Howell did.
“At least he didn’t kill people like Janet Reno did.”
That’s the best defense you have? Hmmm…
And as Ben points out, David Koresh (born as Vernon Howell) had plenty of opportunities to end the stand-off peacefully, but he obviously declined.
I have been disappointed that no one has commented on the “no crimes committed” meme and how that is not a very high bar that the apologists for this administration always have to resort to in order to defend them. What would be wrong with this administration doing their jobs without politicalization? The Bushcos seem unable to do this – for them it is always politics and ideology, but never policy. Bush simply does not know how to govern and has never been interested in learning. Heck-of-a-job U.S. voters.
Cronyism, corruption and incompetence – that is all this administration has been about.
Would like to see examples to the contrary, if anyone has any.
What crimes or what is the big deal about firing of US Attorneys?
To me, it isn’t more than just another political opportunity stunt by Democrats to get more face time in front of the camera.
Any evidence on the contrary, if anyone has any.
As Bob Dole used to say, “The most dangerous place in Washington D.C., is between Schumer and a camera.”
:)