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(Photo of the Columbus statue in Barcelona by YTaP.)
Oh, Alberto. Smarmy, weasel answers are so last year when the Republicans controlled Congress. So, might I suggest that you do not say this: (PDF)
I know that I did not, and would not, ask for a resignation of any individual in order to interfere with or influence a particular prosecution for partisan political gain.I also have no basis to believe that anyone involved in this process sought the removal of a U.S. Attorney for an improper reason.
No basis to believe? Wow, that's really...wishy washy. And this: (PDF)
Based upon the record as I know it, it is unfair and unfounded for anyone to conclude that any U.S. Attorney was removed for an improper reason....
I made mistakes in not ensuring that these U.S. attorneys received more dignified treatment. Others within the Department of Justice also made mistakes. As far as I know, these were honest mistakes of perception and judgment and not intentional acts of misconduct.
The record as you know it? What about the record that you don't know? Sad. And weak. And it leaves you a hole the size of a Mack truck to drive through in terms of getting it wrong. It's not even plausible deniability. And this? This is just flat out pathetic: (PDF)
Near the end of the process, as I have said many times, Kyle Sampson presented me with the final recommendations, which I approved. I did so because I understood that the recommendations represented the consensus of senior Justice Department officials most knowledgeable about the performance of all 93 U.S. Attorneys. I also remember that, at some point in time, Mr. Sampson explained to me the plan to inform the U.S. Attorneys of my decision.
So, let me get this straight, Alberto: you didn't know how the 93 U.S. Attorneys working for you were doing, you were talked into firing a few attorneys after you didn't think you could get away with firing all of them, you let other people make the decision who to fire, and you let your assistant tell you how you were going to tell them they were fired. Is that about right? Because, if so, that is the most pathetic excuse for leadership and administrative buck passing that I have ever heard. Pa. The. Tic. (PDF)
In hindsight, I should have handled this differently. As a manager, I am aware that decisions involving personnel are some of the most difficult and challenging decisions one can make. United States Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President, but looking back, it is clear to me that I should have done more personally to ensure that the review process was more rigorous, and that each U.S. Attorney was informed of this decision in a more personal and respectful way.
Gee, ya think? Dude, you weren't firing the afternoon french fry basket guy at Der Wienerschnitzel for failing to change out the fryer oil on time.
You are a political appointee, running a department that has the responsibility to fairly and evenly apply the law to the evidence in every single case it handles, and to ensure that justice is served by your actions and the actions of those who work under you. It might have been a good idea to take a step back and say to yourself, "Hey, why is this being pushed so much by the political appointees at the DoJ? What do the career folks at Justice think? Why is the White House political shop pushing these firings so much?"
But then, you'd have to not want to be used, wouldn't you? You'd have to be willing to put the honorable thing ahead of keeping your spot at the power table. You'd have to be serving the American public, the Constitution, and the rule of law...and not the rule of Karl. Or maybe you approved of all of it, and you are just trying to pass the political buck so that you don't have to face any consequences for your own actions. No amount of attempted deflection of responsibility negates this incontrovertable fact: Mr. Gonzales, with all due respect, you failed at your job.
Alberto Gonzales is scheduled to testify beginning at 10 am ET on April 17th before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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zed?
Is Gonzo making Ashcroft look like he was a competent AG?
JUSTICE!
and COFFEE!
and now off to work…
Christy I saw footage of flooding in W. VA last night, were you guys OK?
I was worried about you
The US doesn’t have a functioning government. It has a propaganda mill for the preservation of one man and one man alone.
6 years, not bad. 6 years to shatter one of the greatest experiments in world history.
-GSD
House Dems need to be held accountable, too — for investigating these crooks and liars to the bitter (for them) end. If they let up on these people, then they should be terminated in the ‘08 election.
EPU’d
Lou Costello @ 103
Christy, could you please post something irrelevant and not compelling once in a while? How the heck are the rest of us going to get anything done if you keep hooking us? As I read the Gonzales statement, I kept trying to picture the group gathered around the table, crafting this deathless prose. I do think I detect the heavy hand of Karen Hughes with Rovian overtones. And you hafta wonder what made them sit back in their chairs, saying, “There. We nailed it!” Ah, in Wonderland, anything can happen. Hi ho, hi ho.
(Pls pardon OT… EPU’d)
Hope to see you on our unofficial FirePup map.——————————
Feeling adventuresome? Interested in who else is in the FDL community, and where they are? Maybe get in touch with them via anonymous message?
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OBTW, too many map pins say “Independent.” I’ve a mind to delete them all. Watch the legend beneath the map.
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(Further Off-OT): I predict that the FDL server will be sllloooowww during Gonzo’s testimony Tue 4/17. To try a FirePup chat that doesn’t impact this server, open a 2nd window and send it to http://gabbly.com/firedoglake.com .
lhp at 4 — We live up on a hill, so we’re in very good shape. No flooding at our house, but the rivers and creeks in the area are definitely pretty high at the moment. Most of the flooding was in other areas of the state, though.
Based upon the record as I know it, it appears that Alberto Gonzales is the worst attorney general of all time, breaking the record of John Mitchell. As far as I know.
Morning, Christy. Anybody think Bush will take questions today?
Badwater @ 2
I must admit to a vauge disquietude at the switch, along the lines of ‘be careful what you wish for. . . ‘ Ashcroft was SO bad, it was hard not to feel relieved. But by then we had enough info to be uncertain about celebrating.
Memo from the Annoying Grammar Weasel: whom to fire.
Wolfowitz won’t resign. Ditto Gonzales. Bush, Cheney, Rove, not a chance. It’s like your deadbeat brother-in-law along with all his loser buddies camp out in your house sponging off you & won’t leave.
Badwater @
2
So it would seem. Ashcroft was a wingnutty kook, but as a former governor he at least had a modicum of administrative competence. Gonzales is just a clown. A sad, sad, clown.
two mail servers were used by the Republican National Committee and two Bush-Cheney 04 web sites: georgewbush.com and gwb43.com. The two mail servers are: 10 mailscan1.smartechcorp.net and 10 mailscan2.smartechcorp.net. The IP addresses for the two servers are: IP addresses are 64.203.97.101 and 64.203.98.245, respectively. Because they both have a “10″ priority that means that they backed each other up.
Another reader contacted Sen. Patrick Leahy’s office with detailed technical information on how to retrieve the missing e-mails from the servers involved in White House, Justice Department, and RNC inter-communications. That individual was given a brush-off by a Leahy staffer. If Leahy and his staff are waiting for the Bush administration to come up with the missing e-mails, they are sadly mistaken. Leahy’s staff needs a course in what phone calls to pay attention to. In the case referred to above, he and his staff flunk the test for Computer Forensics 101. this from WMR
He’s really going hard for the incompetence dodge. “I take full responsibility, but I’m not responsible for the firing of some of the most important employees I manage because I assumed my staff were doing a good job and signed whatever they put in front of me.”
Can there be any response to that other than “why should the taxpayers pay you a salary for a job that you’re obviously not doing?”
Redshift at 18 — Good summary. Pathetic, isn’t it?
Can the taxpayers get back the money Abu G collected in salary during his tenure?
GSD @ 5
settle petal.
things do look a bit grim
but
you’re not dead yet.
not likely to be either by the look of it.
not improper
seem to be the words of the moment.
wolfowitz is using it as well.
hiding behind propriety
sheesh!
I’m tellin ya, they’re setting Gonzales up to take the fall. He’s going to resign, and the whole spin on this is going to be about poor, dumb, out-of-his-depth Alberto, rather than a systemic effort by the administration to game the entire DOJ.
ironranger @ 15
In the case of Wolfowitz, at least, it fortunately isn’t Bush who makes the decision to fire him, it’s the World Bank board. According to the New Yorker article, his attitude toward the board has been “I’m not going to bother to ask them because they almost always approve what the World Bank president decides anyway.” I can’t imagine he has much goodwill with them.
Hey, Redshift (@18), great minds think alike!!
Like Rummy used to say…‘Go with what you’ve got!’
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/4/15/114515/619
*or something like that. With McCain goodness inside.
quote and comment taken from TPM’s document thread. It’s important to remember that they are trying to get us to focus on the process rather than the reasoning. This was about prosecuting Dems for political hay, pushing bogus voter fraud lawsuits to reduce Dem turnout, and most imprtantly, getting Carol Lam off her important investigation.
Wolfowitz will need a job soon. Maybe he can be Attorney General.
Badwater @ 2
Bush is making Nixon look like an ethical POTUS.
cleter @ 22
I have no doubt that’s what they’re trying to do (well, other than Bush, who no doubt still thinks that nobody gets to tell him what to do.) I don’t think Leahy and Conyers are likely to stop there, though; too much has come out now that makes it clear Gonzales didn’t act alone. They might have gotten away with it if they’d had the sense to make him a sacrificial lamb a month ago, but not now (at least I hope now.)
Second, we are having morale problems with our other US Attorneys who understand the decision but think that these folks were not treated well in the process.”
Yeah, because they have been labeled as partisan-hacks in the minds of many now. Every step they take will be scrutinized for the whiff of political partisanship.
They deserve the scrutiny even if they aren’t total Kool-Aid drunk loyal Bushies.
Heckuva job.
-GSD
I simply must highlight costello’s post and jesterfox’s resoinse..the post is too good and I don’t want it to get lost so soon
man, these questions need to be highlighted and sent to sir waxman and sir leahy
Just saw this on Time.com…
So who gets to replace Gonzo? Any guesses? I’m thinking Harriet Miers.
EPU’d (wow, been wanting to write that for so long) — anyhow, from last thread, concerning Schumer saying he had kept Gonzales in the loop as far as others’ interviews: I think it was really good P.R. so the poor Webubwicans can’t say “you mean ol’ Democwatz, always pwain’ unfair.” If it took Gonzales weeks to work on his testimony and to come up with his pitiful non-statement, a day’s notice of some others’ testimony won’t help his case much.
big bob @ 17
Keep trying. They will have to pick a team of techies and will want to recruit the best. Expertise is highly distributed these days (unlike in my day in 1973 with the Watergate tapes) so they can pick brains from anywhere… Keep trying & Godspeed.
LnGrrrR @ 33
Former Connecticut Attorney General Joe Lieberman.
The two-page letter, written on stationery of the American Freedom Agenda, a recently formed body designed to promote conservative legal principles, is blunt. Addressed to both Bush and Gonzales, it goes well beyond the U.S. attorneys controversy and details other alleged failings by Gonzales. “Mr. Gonzales has presided over an unprecedented crippling of the Constitution’s time-honored checks and balances,” it declares. “He has brought rule of law into disrepute, and debased honesty as the coin of the realm.” Alluding to ongoing scandal, it notes: “He has engendered the suspicion that partisan politics trumps evenhanded law enforcement in the Department of Justice.”
The letter concludes by saying, “Attorney General Gonzales has proven an unsuitable steward of the law and should resign for the good of the country…
Time
ironranger @ 15
Yeah, but you can’t impeach your bro-in-law.
We can — and should — impeach Abu, Chimp & Darth. And as John Dean has recommended, we should start the Abu impeachment process (maybe Leahy already has?) THIS WEEK. Even if he resigns.
perris, jesterfox, and others
fyi - the two guards accused in the Texas Youth Comm. scandal were finally indicted by a grand jury last week -
local DA, not USA
indictment link
Dallas Morning News - scandal links
‘Morning, Christy, FirePups! Vacation ends today, sitting in the airport now…
Which means I will be back in the comfort of my home, able to watch Abu G. fluff it up big time on my choice of CSPAN on cable or high speed internet.
And with my favorite wonky peeps here at the Lake!!
Timing could not be better, so glad that Abu needed this much practice before his appearance.
raven @ 37
Christy - I think the key word used by Gonzo that you bolded is ‘consensus’ : “Kyle Sampson presented me with the final recommendations, which I approved. I did so because I understood that the recommendations represented the consensus of senior Justice Department officials most knowledgeable.
We got tipped off to this concept by Metcalfe, the recently retired senior attorney whose Q&A was featured as a thread here over the weekend and elsewhere. As Metcalfe pointed out:
In other words, if it doesn’t really matter so much to you how well or efficiently a government activity is handled, just so long as it eventually is handled, then the thinking is: Why not handle it in the way that most effectively minimizes personal risk? What this breeds, of course, is an utter lack of individual responsibility — the very antithesis of good government.
***
He described what to many listeners was an absolutely astonishing process by which he and a small group of others within the Justice Department handled the matter of U.S. Attorney replacement. By all accounts, no one person was in charge (Kyle described himself as merely the “aggregator”), it operated strictly by “consensus” (a word that he wielded as if it were an indisputably favorable one), and the end result was something that even he could not fully explain.
Yet it became the “groupthink” recommendation to the AG, an unprecedented “hit list” to be endorsed uncritically, as if it were something upon which Gonzales could rely without thinking. (And with nary a paper trail, by the way, which, I can tell you is no small consideration.) One might ask: Exactly whose dispositive decision was it to include the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico (let alone the threshold question of why) on that final list?
The meaning and use of the word ‘consensus’ by Gonzo has to be absolutely wrestled to the ground and NOT be allowed to serve as a mechanism for blurring facts and personal knowledge or behavior.
http://www.law.com/servlet/Con.....LawArticle
Rayne @ 40
WB Rayne, discoverer of Gabbly for Pups. Long time No C. We praise you virtually daily. CU tmw. Bring popcorn. LOL
Melikes the weasel. Methinks a picture of a weasel should be at the top of the Gonzo hearing threads tomorrow.
“Wolfowitz won’t resign. Ditto Gonzales. Bush, Cheney, Rove, not a chance. It’s like your deadbeat brother-in-law along with all his loser buddies camp out in your house sponging off you & won’t leave.”-ironranger
The Solution? We’ll have to be a bit sneaky here…to confuse the monitors at DOJ. Two words. First word: sounds like… “civil”. Second word: sounds like…”war”. It’s a slam-dunk, I tell ya.
Seriously, I’m really looking forward to the on-going testimony of these rascals. Every other qualifying statement they make can be added to a long list of replies guaranteed to really frustrate and exhaust the person on the other side of the table during a tax audit.
Muzzy @ 42
In other words: “Shit happens.”
That’s his defense? Shit happens? America’s mightiest lawyer, the head of the Justice Department, couldn’t come up with a better defense than “Shit Happens” ?!
This:
“I know that I did not, and would not, ask for a resignation of any individual in order to interfere with or influence a particular prosecution for partisan political gain.”
However, the thrust of this problem is groups of prosecutions or “hands off” categories, not “a particular prosecution.” Herein is the lie.
Secondly, the obstruction of justice is hiding in plain sight. For example; It seems to me the Biskupic harassment prosecution against Georgia Thompson and Gov Doyle was obstruction of justice in that he publicized the prosecution instead of obeying the rule about keeping prosecutions out of the public arena.
And, it seems to me the same logic applies to the Iglesias firing if what the Albuquerque Journal says is true: Gonzalez said no, unless Bush tells him to. Bush then told Rove, who told Sampson, Gonzalez’ underling, to fire him.
Bush has the authority, but it is obstructing justice. Justice is a two edged sword. By hammering on one, you obstruct the other.
As for Sampson doing the job, after Gonzalez approved the list on November 27, ‘06, this makes Gonzo’s statement false testimony before Congress because there is a well established legal principle about a “superior” being accountable for the actions of his underling.
So, his written testimony has a false statement in it.
He should be impeached, even if he resigns this week. His retirement can be attacked via the impeachment process, and the House can finally get some procedural leverage instead of all these hollow subpoena’s the White House and staff will just ignore. This tact is just laughing all the way to SCOTUS. Bush 2000 redux.
Agh - lost comment. Briefly - have put myself on the map (thx, S.O.S. @ 9) and, on today’s topic, think the whole lot of folks in this sorry tale is incompetent enough to be unemployable, except at wingnut-funded “think” tanks, from which perch they’ll be busy disparaging the democratic administration trying to clean up this mess in two years.
cleter @
41
Whitehead and Viguerie are big names in winger world.
Both Barr and Fein, are very right wing but also seem to have come to believe that the party serves the country and not the other way around.
Gonzo is being set up for the take down.
-GSD
here’s a very happy thought;
suppose abu torture is resigned (why do they get to say they resigned when they are fired?)
these neo fascists are nothing but slime balls, I am betting if bush doesn’t come through for abu, abu throws teh bushster under teh bus
one can dream, yes?
You know, Muzzy has hit it squarely on the head. further
” consensus of senior Justice Department officials most knowledgeable”
Conatins a huge whoppinh lie. They may have been Senoir DOJ officials, but they were hardley “knowledgable” about any criteria theat would have been releveant in an honest and ethical evaluation of USAs
I agree, GSD. Gonzo is being set up, so the whole scandal becomes all about him, him, him.
cleter @ 52
I’m thinking he roles if it all gets laid to his doorstep
S.O.S. from MA @
43
WB Rayne, discoverer of Gabbly for Pups. Long time No C. We praise you virtually daily. CU tmw. Bring popcorn. LOL
Thanks, SOS! Nice to see you again! Can’t wait to bungee cord on the treadmill tomorrow morning in time for Abu; I suspect my blood pressure is going to need a good long walk while I listen to his bullsh*t testimony.
cleter @ 36
Yes, this works for them. If Conn is like most states, their Repug governor (I believe there is a Repug Gov) will appoint the 50th Repug in the Senate and there will be a Senate organizational rules fight; Eg. - Committee chairs, majorities, etc.
Lap dog Lieberman .. Instead of giving him a respectful handle like “Holy Joe” he needs to be tagged with Imus’ favorite label: Ho Joe… Joe Sixpack get’s this. Holy Joe is a facetious label the plebes don’t get.
But, the good news is: The fight to get Ho Joe confirmed under “advise and consent..” Or, is Ho Joe Reid’s Ho’ ??
Hmmmm… great theatre. May you live in interesting times.
Puesto @ 55
it works for them on more fronts then one
he will seem even hamded as the attorney general which will set up his vice presidential run
perris @ 50
Perris, why is this a happy thought? If Abu is gone, there is an excuse to stop investigating before we get to the bottom of this, and darlin’ there is much more puss to clean out of this infection.
More significantly, think ahead, who do we get after Abu. We did NOT TRADE UP when Ashcroft left. In fact things got much much worse.
Though I would like to point out that we have been giving Ashcroft too much credit in th elast two days. Don’t forget it was Comey’s influence that kept total corruption and anarchy at bay while he was DAG.
It astonishes me that this guy isn’t some poor dumb flunky, some junior-level twit. This guy is America’s Head Lawyer. He’s not the assistant manager of the Department of Justice mail room. He is in charge of the entire Justice Department.
OT #1 [Apologies, but I think this might explain the magic 29% wingnut number that the surveys seem to suggest is holding steady]
“69% CAN NAME THE VEEP: Americans’ knowledge of national and international affairs has changed little in two decades despite the emergence of 24-hour cable news and the Internet as major news sources. People surveyed in February were slightly less able than those polled in 1989 to name the vice president, their state’s governor and the president of Russia but slightly more able to answer other questions correctly about national politics, according to a poll released Sunday by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. Of the 1,502 adults survey in February, 69 percent correctly answered Dick Cheney when asked who was the vice president, compared with 74 percent who correctly responded Dan Quayle when the same question was asked in 1989. Two-thirds correctly named their state’s governor in February compared with three-fourths who got that right in 1989. ” AP via Yahoo! News: “Knowledge unchanged by new news outlets”
When Alberto leaves, I want to be attorney general. I intend to work just as hard as he has to meet his responsibilities to his boss(es) and (oh, yeah) the nation:
1. Confirm me.
2. Swear me in.
3. Start writing me paychecks.
4. I’ll delegate all authority.
5. Call me if you have any questions.
6. I won’t be able to answer them.
The Blithering Idiot defense that Gonzo is pursuing is just not gonna hold up and he can “rope-a-dope” all he wants with non denial denials but at the end of the day he will be demonstrated (again) to be a disgraced liar.
Why on earth does the WH want to go through with this? If they think that even if Gonzo resigns this matter will end they are mistaken. The fact that Gonzo is claiming that he wasn’t involved in the firings in a meaningful way is only going to increase the heat on Rove and Miers to testify.
Another Executive Privelege war is about to start.
His op-ed in the Post, “Nothing Improper,” had 53 pages of comments the last time I looked. All negative. I am sure that must be some sort of a record. It has been removed from the Opinion page.
perris @ 53
“I think he roles..” NO WAY! He has Stockholm Syndrome, which is how the Boy Emperor and his Mentor, Rove, have always pick their lackeys.
Ever look them in the eye for that vacuous stare? They all have it. Like a fundy hitting your door with some pamphlets. The lights are on, but no one is home.
If they are not complete whores, to the core, they never make the cut. Look at Harriett Meirs if you need blatant evidence.
Ho Joe is so nicely ironic a nickname. Howard Johnson’s was such an iconic American eatery, who could object? but zings him with that no-no word “ho”.
daveb99 @ 62
wow…I hope someone saved those comments…I am POSITIVE he read them too
clem @ 60
You missed one.
7) Hire a bunch of kool-aid drinking College Republican Opposition reasearcher loyal Bushy pioneers to pollute DOJ long term.
At what stage in the Watergate mess did AG John Mitchell sink beneath the waves?
Where are we now in Watergate terms? What was the interval between AG Mitchell’s flameout and Nixon’s flameout?
nobody thinksabu torture will fold when his carrer is laid to waste?
I don’t give him the credit you guys are giving him, I say he shrivels like a raisen
More sad times in Muckville on the Potomac.
George Tenet’s new book, due out on the 29th is reportedly not going to make Deadeye Dick, Wolfie the Comblicker or the Stupidest Man of the Fucking Planet very happy.
Do I hear 25% approval ratings?
-GSD
my eyes and ears will be peeled for every obtuse and/or vague phrase…
cbl @ 39
THX…interesting timing.
work, catch later
laurie9 @
6
With extreme prejudice.
Pat_AlexVA @ 66
However, the Rove strategy only works from a position of total dominance. It doesn’t work when there’s not hand picked big daddies around to make them feel good about themselves.
That’s why the whole machine is smoking and spitting out gears now.
These lackeys will start to get pushed out by Americans who believe in the rule of law, not the rule of Bush.
-GSD
Gonzo will take over Halliburton, or some thinktank where he can dream up some more of his crap.
Redshift @ 18
Gonzo’s management style mirrors the Preznit’s. Republicans, you must be so proud.
Kool-Ade complaint. I think that only the original spelling should be allowed for us true Kool-Ade drinkers.
cleter -
March 1, 1974 Grand Jury Indicts
* John Mitchell
* H.R. Haldeman
* John Ehrlichman
* Charles Colson
* Robert C. Mardian
* Kenneth W. Parkinson
* Gordon Strachan
for conspiring to hinder the investigation. Nixon is named by the Grand Jury as an unindicted co-conspirator
1,487 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND..
Citizen Hardin Smith and the Firepup Patriots:
In the last thread, looseheadprop gave us a glimpse of what the options are for Congress to establish an investigatory mechanism like a special prosecutor to coordinate the ongoing probes into all the criminal activities that are floating on top of our constitutional system like the sludge in Prudhoe Bay.
I am afraid that only a few in Congress are aware just how dangerous this situation is. There needs to be a well thought out and coordinated strategy between the House and Senate leadership and they hafta get crackin’ on doin’ whatever it takes to get the leash offa Fitzgerald.
So can you spend some time or get down with looseheadprop and game out the various options our congress critters have with regard to special prosecutors and existing prosecutors like Fitz. I am concerned about impeachment only as a tactic to enable a full court press of criminal investigations so that none of these bastards are ever able to see the light of day outside of prison.
KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION, WE OWE IT TO HISTORY!!
ND USAtty Drew Wrigley on local rightwing radio this morning pushing back against the Denby Dairy Farmer on the ICE invasion of their family dairy farm business.
Now that the rock’s been turned over on the firings of eight USAs for what seem strongly corrupt and political purposes, is this a piece of the other 84? Go along to get along? ICE cases on illegal immigration for political gain?
Sure would make a good talking point for RepubliCONs in the 2008 election, now wouldn’t it… does connecting the dots show a developing picture nationally? How’s it look in your neighborhood?
Guitar_Playing_Bastard @ 72
GPB, your violent subtext concerns me.
Executive Privilege can’t stop a criminal investigation.
And, the rats appear to be cornered…tomorrow Gonzo either fesses-up or gets smoked-out.
At this point, ‘Send ‘em to Gitmo’ Gonzales is but a speed bump in road to the collapse of BushCo.
After tomorrow - all eyes on Bush/Rove/Miers!
This is a good description:
“The ‘Willy Loman’ of American presidents, George W. Bush”.
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/6821
cleter@46
In other words: “Shit happens.”
That’s his defense? Shit happens? America’s mightiest lawyer, the head of the Justice Department, couldn’t come up with a better defense than “Shit Happens” ?!
Correct. That’s because there is no legitimate defense for what he/they’ve done.
I Gonzo goes, nobody gets confirmed. Think recess appointment or never submit one.
Ah, the House is back in session (yes!). Besides Gonzales tomorrow, does anyone know of any other potentially interesting hearings this week? I love watching the government at work …
For a little window into the direction the world will be heading. Read this article.
Eastern powers are forming new alliances and are growing less and less concerned about what the US says or does.
Those that claim they are cementing the US in the position of Lone Superpower are actually hastening the collapse of said superpower.
India, Pakistan, China, Russia and of course Iran are working together quite well these days.
The US, not so much.
-GSD
Gonzo made a false statement in writing to Congress.
He said he never released someone for a particular prosecution. Yet, if the Albuquerque Journal is correct, his underling, Sampson, did: Iglesias, at the behest of Domenici.
Thus, as Sampson’s superior, the legal principle of superiors having no protection from the misdeeds of underlings seems to hold.
It seems to me: Lying to Congress is a crime. A prosecutor should be able to be appointed with a grand jury to look into this. It can get very, very broad from there.
Now, Domenici might be someone who would “roll.” Or, at least point some very big fingers at Rove.
Question: Can Rove be impeached?
cleter @ 36
This guy may have an inside track. Jeffrey Brauch, Dean of Regent University’s Law School would fit right in. Coming into the office he wouldn’t be at a disadvantage, as so many of his former students already know the ropes at DOJ….
GSD @ 86
Toward the end of NYT article on Wolfie, mentions that Europe is diverting more of its poverty relief funds away from U.S. dominated WB. All part of the same gradual isolation of the lone superpower.
Let’s not forget that Bush doesn’t have a rubber stamp anymore.
-GSD
big bob @ 17
With all of the talent, connections, and lines of communication that the FDL community has I think big bob deserves more than just a “keep trying” comment.
Surely there must be one or more Fire Pups with a means of ensuring that the important technical info is received by Leahy and received ASAP.
Since the theme of Gonzo’s opening statement seems to be “I Am Totally Incompetent”, I would love to see a senator say something like this:
“Mr. Gonzolas, as the person who is in charge of the department responsible for enforcing federal laws for the entire country, do you realize that IGNORANCE OF THE LAW IS NO EXCUSE?”
Christy…good detective work on getting Luskin to confirm that many of the emails that Fitz wanted to examine were materials that were on the external e-mail server that Rove used and were deleted.
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/.....ng-emails/
Thus there is good evidence that the WH used these servers to avoid preserving records as required by the Presidential Records Act.
Fitz would be uninterested in purely political communications…but would be concerned about documents that related to the leaking of a covert agents identity. Those were NOT materials that related (except in a very tangential sense) to the activities relating to the campaign. The related more directly to the rationales for the Iraq War, foreign intelligence gathering, use of classified/declassified materials and efforts to deal with critics of the use of intelligence…as such they should have been preserved. They should have been preserved.
But Rove used his gwb43 server to avoid that scrutiny. Fitz somehow seemed to know that there were records missing (perhaps he has the partial record of the communications using this site from another individuals email or a hard-copy from a recipient)?
That’s why he knew about the gap.
So this whole Gonzalez fiasco DOES relate to the Fitzgerald investigation of the Plame leaks!