Resigning Attorney General Alberto Gonzales left the scandal-scarred Justice Department on Friday, declaring himself hopeful about its mission of ferreting out crime and defending the truth. Gonzales quit after 2 1/2 years at the department amid investigations into whether he broke the law and lied to Congress. He has denied any wrongdoing.
President Bush is expected to announce a nominee next week to replace his longtime friend and fellow Texan.
In a Friday morning speech, Gonzales said his time at the Justice Department made him determined to fight terrorists and sexual predators and crack down on guns, drugs and gang violence plaguing the nation's neighborhoods.
"Over the past two and a half years, I have seen tyranny, dishonesty, corruption and depravity of types I never thought possible,"
That is what happens when you work for a criminal administration and you yourself are a dishonest slug. The tyranny, depravity, dishonesty and corruption are the modus operandi of the current Republican party as led by the depraved and tyrannical moron we call President Bush. Mr. Gonzales should now crawl back under the rock that he came out of. Good riddance Gonzo.
Embattled U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has resigned, senior administration officials told CNN Monday.
President Bush will likely nominate Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to the position, senior administration officials said. Clay Johnson, deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget, would replace Chertoff, the officials said.
Many lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have long called for his ouster after the firing of several U.S. attorneys in 2006. Bush had long stood by Gonzales.
Gonzales will announce his resignation at a news conference at the Justice Department at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Bye, Bye Gonzo you were the worst Attorney General in United States history.
Congressman Jay Inslee will introduce tomorrow a resolution calling for impeachment of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, according to a statement from his office. Inslee, a former prosecutor in Selah, has lined up other former prosecutors in Congress to join as co-sponsors. As of this afternoon he had five co-sponsors.
Finally some real action on Mr. Gonzales. He has lied with impunity from his confirmation hearing forward. How can we have a Justice Department run by a liar?
He has thumbed his nose at the law and Congress for too long. Letting him keep his job sends the message that lying to Congress will be tolerated. Maybe this impeachment resolution will finally force Mr. Gonzales to resign.
At a news conference, Sen. Charles Schumer of New York said he and other Democrats wanted to look into "potential perjury" by Gonzales during a hearing on Tuesday.
"His inability to answer simple and straightforward questions was just stunning," Schumer said. "Instead he tells the half-truth, the partial truth and everything but the truth."
It's the latest salvo in a dispute regarding President Bush's domestic surveillance program. On Wednesday night, the Justice Department said Gonzales "stands by" Senate testimony that appeared to contradict a memo about a White House meeting with congressional leaders in 2004.
Finally someone is holding these criminals to account. Alberto Gonzales is the most corrupt Attorney General in my lifetime and needs to be removed. How can we trust the Justice Department if its leader is under such a cloud? He lies with impunity and seemingly with no remorse. It is time for the American people to be shown that the rule of law does matter and prosecute the Attorney General for perjury.
Gonzales said that he and Card had been urged by congressional leaders of both parties to take steps necessary to ensure that the unidentified intelligence program survive a looming deadline for its expiration. To do that, Gonzales said, he needed Ashcroft's permission.
At the time, Ashcroft was in an intensive care unit recovering from gall bladder surgery and Gonzales was Bush's White House legal counsel. Ashcroft had transferred the powers of his office to Deputy Attorney General James Comey.
"We went there because we thought it was important for him to know where the congressional leadership was on this," Gonzales told the Senate Judiciary Committee in his first public explanation of the meeting.
Alberto Gonzales has a history of lying and can not be believed on this issue. Today's grilling at a Congressional hearing included statements of mistrust.
"The constitutional authority and responsibility for congressional oversight is gone," said Specter, the Judiciary Committee's senior Republican. "If that is to happen, the president can run the government as he chooses, answer no questions."
Glaring at Gonzales just a few feet away at the witness table, Specter declared, "The attorney general has the authority to appoint a special prosecutor."
"I don't trust you," Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, told Gonzales.
No one should trust Alberto Gonzales and a special prosecutor should be appointed to get to the truth of many issues. Where is the Democratic version of Ken Starr when you need him?
"The president has decided to assert executive privilege and therefore the White House will not be making any production in response to these subpoenas for documents," White House Counsel Fred Fielding wrote in a letter to Senator Pat Leahy of Vermont and Representative John Conyers of Michigan, chairmen of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees.
The White House resistance is likely to touch off a constitutional showdown over Congress's ability to investigate the firing of prosecutors and the president's ability to obtain frank counsel from advisers.
"The principles at stake here are of the utmost importance," Fielding said in the letter to lawmakers. "Presidents must be able to depend upon their advisers and other executive branch officials speaking candidly and without inhibition while deliberating and working to advise the president."
I thought Dick Cheney was not part of the executive branch? Lets all watch watch while the Republicans, who insisted Bill Clinton testify about a private affair, rally around this decision by the President. This is a criminal administration and needs to be held accountable.
Also named in subpoenas signed by committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, were the Justice Department and the National Security Council.
The committee wants documents that might shed light on internal disputes within the administration over the legality of the program.
"Our attempts to obtain information through testimony of administration witnesses have been met with a consistent pattern of evasion and misdirection," Leahy said in his cover letters for the subpoenas. "There is no legitimate argument for withholding the requested materials from this committee."
Echoing its response to previous congressional subpoenas to former administration officials Harriet Miers and Sara Taylor, the White House gave no indication that it would comply.
"We're aware of the committee's action and will respond appropriately," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said.
This is a huge issue and will generate a constitutional crisis. The White House will not answer these subpoenas as they have operated as if they are above the law. Could this be the first piece of a puzzle whose ending is impeachment? What about Dick Cheney, will he claim executive privilege after saying he was not part of the executive branch of government?
This is what oversight looks like. The free ride is over for this criminal administration.
The disclosure could represent a serious legal threat to the embattled attorney general. Fine's office is empowered to refer matters for criminal prosecution if warranted.
The revelation also broadens the publicly known contours of the internal Justice Department investigation, which is examining the removal of the prosecutors as well as whether any laws or policies were violated in the hiring of career prosecutors, immigration judges and others.
In a May 23 appearance before the House Judiciary Committee, Goodling testified that Gonzales had laid out his general recollection of events surrounding the prosecutor dismissals during a meeting between the two in March, as Goodling was preparing to leave the department. Gonzales asked whether Goodling "had any reaction to his iteration," and she said the conversation made her "a little uncomfortable" because of ongoing investigations into the issue, according to her testimony.
It sounds like our illustrious Attorney general could have been engaged in witness tampering which is a felony. Does anyone know why this unqualified hack is still our chief law enforcement official? This may turn up the heat enough to finally force him out.
The Justice Department should be as non political as possible. I understand that everything in Washington is political to some degree but this administration has crossed the line so often that no one is even sure where the line starts anymore.
This could be the second Monica who opened her mouth at the wrong time and took down a President. The difference with this one is that the activities she will be discussing could very well be criminal. Alberto Gonzales has claimed the memory of an Alzheimer´s patient on this scandal. Lets see if Ms. Goodling´s testimony jogs his memory. What everyone needs to listen for is the real reasons for the firings. It is becoming more and more clear that the Justice Department was being used as an arm of the Republican Party. Prosecutors were expected to go after Democrats and not investigate Republicans. This should be very interesting television. You can watch this live on C-Span or stream it here.
After watching this testimony from Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey, it is obvious that Alberto Gonzales lied in his Senate testimony. This should be required viewing for all Americans. We all need to wake up and realize that we are living through the most corrupt administration in our nations history.
Once you read this story it becomes very obvious that the two things missing from the Justice Department were justice and impartiality. The department became a place where loyalty to President Bush took precedent over experience.
Two years ago, Robin C. Ashton, a seasoned criminal prosecutor at the Department of Justice, learned from her boss that a promised promotion was no longer hers.
“You have a Monica problem,” Ms. Ashton was told, according to several Justice Department officials. Referring to Monica M. Goodling, a 31-year-old, relatively inexperienced lawyer who had only recently arrived in the office, the boss added, “She believes you’re a Democrat and doesn’t feel you can be trusted.”
Exactly what does being a Democrat have to do with your ability to administer justice? How can anyone respect or trust this Justice Department when it is obvious that guilt or innocence meant less than political affiliation, competence worth less than loyalty to President Bush. How unqualified people became so important in this administration is as much the story as the firings of the prosecutors. The attorneys that were not fired could become as large a part of the investigation as those that were. What exactly did they need to do to keep their jobs? A complete investigation needs to be done and those responsible, such as Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, need to be removed from office. His lack of memory should be reason enough to be removed. In the weeks ahead the "Monica Problem" will grow. Will those that called for President Clinton to be impeached for his "Monica Problem" be as steadfast with the current administration? The corruption in this administration stinks worse than the NJ Turnpike at rush hour. Its time to end the stink and restore truth and justice to the Justice Department.
Yesterday's testimony of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales did little to help his dwindling support on Capital Hill. Mr. Gonzales who was said to have cleared his schedule for the past week to prepare for his testimony seemed woefully unprepared as he said "I do not recall" over 100 times.
Some Republicans made their disdain for Mr. Gonzales clear by their questions. Just 15 minutes after the attorney general began testifying, Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the senior Republican on the panel, remarked wryly that Mr. Gonzales had prepared extensively for the appearance. “I prepare for every hearing, senator,” Mr. Gonzales replied.
Mr. Specter seemed to view it as a smart-aleck retort, and the exchange that followed ended poorly for the attorney general. “Let’s move on,” Mr. Specter said sharply. “I don’t think you’re going to win a debate about your preparation, frankly.”
Democrats seemed gleeful as they watched Republicans go after one of their own, even as their central assertion — that the White House had let politics interfere with law enforcement — was subsumed by questions about Mr. Gonzales’s job performance. Senator Charles E. Schumer, the New York Democrat who has been spearheading the inquiry, did not seem to mind.
“I think anyone who’s watched this would say we could do better for attorney general,” Mr. Schumer said during a break. “He seems to be far less qualified than the U.S. attorneys that he’s fired.”
The big questions that remain are how long will Alberto Gonzalez remain the Attorney General and why does everyone in the administration seem willing to fall on their sword for Karl Rove, whose participation in the US Attorney firings is clear.
