March 29, 2007
Will Alberto Gonzales Take the Fifth? (Brent Budowsky)
When we take the dress off the pig, today Kyle Sampson said Alberto Gonzales is a liar.
The attorney general told the Congress and the nation he was not involved in the firings of U.S. attorneys. We can dress this up nine different ways, we can use the weasel words of official Washington, but this is clear:
Alberto Gonzales lied.
Here is the problem for the President:
He wants to replace Gonzales but has extreme problems finding a successor who is both honest and will accept the job.
The president is afraid of an honest attorney general because the trail of wrongdoing would be exposed by an AG who faithfully executes the law.
The president cannot get an AG who will play the cover-up game, because the cover-up AG candidates won’t accept the job for fear of being indicted.
This is an administration full of Scooter Libbys protecting Dick Cheneys.
The Gonzales scandal goes far beyond the U.S. attorneys and reaches into the bowels of the White House, from the days Gonzales was White House counsel.
In those days Alberto Gonzales was giving legal support to policies of torture, and to policies of massive violations of the U.S. Constitution through eavesdropping and other measures, without court order.
Are there internal e-mails, executive orders, memos or legal opinions seeking to legalize what is illegal? What did Alberto Gonzales know, and when did he know it, and what did he write about it, on Abu Ghraib, and Guantanamo, and violating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act?
The president must faithfully execute the laws. No attorney general or White House counsel can advise otherwise, without advising the president to break the law.
We now know that the secretary of defense and the secretary of state are advising the president to close Guantanamo, while the attorney general leads the fight to keep it open. With all due respect …
Alberto Gonzales is a basically nice man who is in over his head. He is an average attorney elevated to great heights by his sycophantic devotion to one man. Unfortunately that one man has tendencies that Republicans from George Will to Chuck Hagel have labeled as monarchical, and that one man believes he is above the law.
If there ever was a president who desperately needs an attorney general of stature, integrity and legal authority it is George W. Bush. If ever there were an Attorney General who should never be a sycophant or enabler for George W. Bush, it is Alberto Gonzales.
The president should appoint Jack Danforth as the next attorney general. Danforth is a former senator, brilliant lawyer and devout minister of unquestioned integrity and high-stature legal authority.
Otherwise our country may be headed for an endless succession of Scooter Libbys, with the buck finally landing squarely on the desk of the president, with consequences that will be grave indeed.
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The very worst enemy of President Bush and his entire administration is the simple and honest TRUTH.How can the American Public accept and condone the blatant lies of these criminals and allow them to remain in office??
Comment by Nannie Turner — March 29, 2007 @ 6:04 pm
Prediction: 12/08(perhaps sooner), Bush resigns, Cheney pardons. Bank on it!
Comment by John Black — March 29, 2007 @ 9:11 pm
Why not Dick Armey? He can't be half as bad as Gone-zalez. I am feeling embarassed and shamed for Alberto and Dubya. They have gotten caught, red handed, politicizing the Justice Department. What could be worse? The Justice Department! Sampson is obviously a snot-nosed kid they were, and are, setting up for the fall. What has happened with the Dusty Foggo prosecution? What's that smell?
Comment by Chris in NM — March 29, 2007 @ 9:34 pm
An Administration full of Scooter Libbys protecting Dick Cheneys - the best description I've heard yet. An Administration full of people in over their Heads whose only qualifications are to be "Loyal Bushies" (thanks Kyle, mr. 30ish, never-tried-a-case, Chief of Staff to AG). When a group enters Government to enrich & empower Friends & Family, rather than for Public Service, the results are not suprising.
Comment by 800mfan — March 30, 2007 @ 12:38 am
He would only take the Fifth if he has somthing to hide.
People who are moral and ethical will just speak the truth.
That is what I don't get; why is bush against having people testify openly under oath if he has nothing to hide.
Our government has become as open as the old Soviets in the last 7 years.
Comment by Dr Richard Blackmoor — March 30, 2007 @ 4:35 am
In case liberals don't realize it, the 5th Amendment is a constitutional protection just like your precious "freedom of speech". Plenty of folks in the Clintoon administration used the 5th Amendment too.
Oh wait, I forgot … everything the Clintoon administration did was good, everything Bush does is bad.
Comment by Vince Conti — March 31, 2007 @ 7:32 am
Are you kidding me? Bush's worst nightmare is Gonzo resigning. I'm sure he has his orders not to resign, and he will not be fired. They are petrified about naming a new one. It's called Senate approval. Only an honest and non-partisan nominee will get past the Senate, and think of the havoc a wide open Justice Dept. would have on the "loyal Bushies"!
Comment by pablo — March 31, 2007 @ 7:33 am
So this substream of the Bush administration truth scandals have all come down to these possibilities? How can our Republic get anything analyzed, synthesized, agreed upon and negotiated over the next 20 months with these swords of Damocles hanging over our collective heads?
Comment by Barbara Mathews Blanton — April 3, 2007 @ 3:16 pm