Alberto Gonzales

It looks like people didn't appreciate the ABA naming Gonzales Lawyer of the Year, even if they did try to associate it with Time naming Hitler Person of the Year:

The ABA Journal posted an article titled “Lawyers of the Year 2007 & 2008” on ABA Journal.com, on Dec. 12, 2007.  The article defined that term as the year’s biggest legal newsmaker, identifying former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales as the major newsmaker of 2007.  The Journal regrets that we did not make this theme clear.

We appreciate the feedback we’ve received, and we’re acting on it.  So that there can be no confusion, the term “Lawyers of the Year” has been changed in the headline and story to “Newsmakers of the Year.”  The story is otherwise unchanged from its original version.

By reading the ABA's statement, it appears a lot of attorneys around the country didn't appreciate that title going to Gonzo. I can't say I really blame them for being upset over it - the lawyers I know don't like to even associate Gonzales as being in the same profession as them.

Drum Roll!!!!

Alberto Gonzales!!!

Negative news coverage may have cost former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales his job, but it won him a dubious honor Wednesday from a magazine published by the American Bar Association: Lawyer of the Year.

Additionally, the ABA Journal named Gonzales' successor, Attorney General Michael Mukasey, as its top lawyer for 2008 — mostly in anticipation of how often he'll be in the media spotlight for trying to repair the beleaguered Justice Department.

Check your calendars all you want - it still isn't April 1st. This is a very true story and should leave us wondering about the future of our legal system.

Today's New York Times has an article explaining how torture became a method of interrogation for this administration:

When the Justice Department publicly declared torture “abhorrent” in a legal opinion in December 2004, the Bush administration appeared to have abandoned its assertion of nearly unlimited presidential authority to order brutal interrogations.

But soon after Alberto R. Gonzales’s arrival as attorney general in February 2005, the Justice Department issued another opinion, this one in secret. It was a very different document, according to officials briefed on it, an expansive endorsement of the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the Central Intelligence Agency.

The new opinion, the officials said, for the first time provided explicit authorization to barrage terror suspects with a combination of painful physical and psychological tactics, including head-slapping, simulated drowning and frigid temperatures.

Think Progress has more on this, including Condi's apparent angry response to this decision. This is the reason why impeachment should be on the table, contrary to what Nancy Pelosi says. The Democrats need to stop acting like Republicans and show leadership. Sadly I doubt that will happen. While I still want to see more Democrats take over Congress and the White House, I will not be donating any money to the Democratic party of the election committees until they deliver on what they promise.

So long idiot!:

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, whose tenure has been marred by controversy and accusations of perjury before Congress, has resigned. A senior administration official said he would announce the decision later this morning in Washington.

Mr. Gonzales, who had rebuffed calls for his resignation, submitted his to President Bush by telephone on Friday, the official said. His decision was not immediately announced, the official added, until after the president invited him and his wife to lunch at his ranch near here.

Mr. Bush has not yet chosen a replacement but will not leave the position open long, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the Attorney General's resignation had not yet been made public.

Now we can see who the replacement will be.

Today is becoming D-Day for Gonzales. The HIll is reporting that a "bombshell" is supposed to be released by the administration today regarding Gonzales:

The Senate Judiciary Committee’s ranking Republican, Arlen Specter (Pa.), emerged from a crucial Monday briefing and gave the Bush administration 18 hours to resolve the controversy over apparent contradictions in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’s congressional testimony.\

Gonzales took issue last week with former Deputy Attorney General James Comey’s description of internal dissent in 2004 over the legal authority for the National Security Agency’s (NSA) warrantless eavesdropping program. Frustrated Democrats called for a special prosecutor to investigate Gonzales for perjury, noting that several officials have publicly echoed Comey’s account. Those calls prompted Specter to request a classified briefing to clear up the dispute.

Specter aides released a statement late Monday that suggested a bombshell to come on Tuesday afternoon.

“Given the difficulty of discussing classified matters in public, I think it is preferable to have a letter addressing that question [of Gonzales’ veracity] from the administration … by noon tomorrow, which will be made available to the news media,” Specter wrote in the statement. “The administration has committed to producing such a letter.”

Specter expects the letter clarifying the attorney general’s testimony to be addressed to himself and Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who declined to comment on the matter.

(emphasis added)

Now what could this bombshell be? Are they going to carefully type out that there is another domestic surveillance program no one know about? That is how Gonzales' testimony read. If that isn't it, then will it be a letter stating Gonzales' is Gonzo? That would be the best option.

Short of the second option happening, Congress looks set to move forward on impeachment of Gonzo. Considering no Republican lawmakers would even go on FOX this weekend to defend Gonzo, impeachment has a great chance of surviving.

Hear are some highlights from around the blogosphere regarding today's Gonzo hearings.

Arlen Specter is now proposing a special prosecutor to investigate the entire attorney gate scandal, including possible contempt charges from the House.

TPM also picks up on hints being dropped at perjury charges against Gonzales. This is big considering he is our top law enforcement official.

Gonzales may have revealed that the domestic wiretapping had nothing to do with terrorist surveillance:

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) recalled that former Deputy Attorney General James Comey testified to a much different version of events. Comey said he had refused to sign on to an extension of the program “amid concerns about its legality and oversight.”

Today, Gonzales said Comey was referring to “other intelligence activities,” appearing to confirm that the Bush administration is operating more than one warrantless domestic spying program. In a heated back and forth with Specter, Gonzales stated:

The disagreement that occurred was about other intelligence activities and the reason for the visit to the hospital was about other intelligence activities. It was not about the terrorist surveillance program that the president announced to the American people.

Chuck Schumer also got on Gonzales about his constant contradictions in statements.

Overall, I would say this is the big one. Bush has used the excuse of wartime powers to eavesdrop on our enemies. Our enemy is the terrorists, but if the warrantless tapping that was being discussed wasn't in connecting to terrorist surveillance, then what? That is a very serious question and the only way it might be answered is to start impeachment proceedings followed with criminal charges against Bush and anyone else involved.

Today we find out there is more at stake than meats the eye. The Democrats have an obligation to the people and the Constitution of this country to see to it that justice is done. I suggest everyone call their representative and senators to urge them to take action now.

This will be an interesting vote:

The Senate will hold a “no confidence” vote on embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales this Monday, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, announced.

In a statement released Friday, Schumer said if all senators followed their conscience, “this vote would be unanimous.”

“However, the president will certainly exert pressure to support the attorney general, his longtime friend,” Schumer added. “We will soon see where people’s loyalties lie.”

The attorney general is under investigation by Congress over last year’s dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys.

Last month, Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, predicted Gonzales would resign before facing a “substantial” no-confidence vote.

“I think that if and when he sees that coming, that he would prefer to avoid that kind of an historical black mark,” the Pennsylvania senator told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on May 20.

But a day after Specter’s comments, Bush reiterated his support in Gonzales and denounced the prospect of a no-confidence vote as “pure political theater.”

Of course watching the news channels you would have no idea something like this was happening. I mean Paris is going back to jail. That is far more important than things like wars and the state of our nation. America is a sad, pathetic place any more.

Just now being reported on MSNBC that Senate Democrats will be seeking this vote. Hopefully this goes through and doesn't get a typical GOP filibuster.

It appears now that the Justice Department may have delayed the investigation into Rep. Rick Renzi until after the elections last year:

As midterm elections approached last November, federal investigators in Arizona faced unexpected obstacles in getting needed Justice Department approvals to advance a corruption investigation of Republican Rep. Rick Renzi, people close to the case said.

The delays, which postponed key approvals in the case until after the election, raise new questions about whether Attorney General Alberto Gonzales or other officials may have weighed political issues in some investigations. The Arizona U.S. attorney then overseeing the case, Paul Charlton, was told he was being fired in December, one of eight federal prosecutors dismissed in the past year. The dismissals have triggered a wave of criticism and calls from Congress for Mr. Gonzales to resign.

Investigators pursuing the Renzi case had been seeking clearance from senior Justice Department officials on search warrants, subpoenas and other legal tools for a year before the election, people close to the case said.

No wonder why Gonzo has the approval of Bush. We already know Bush's goal is to bring the federal government into a more darker world of politics (sound familiar former Soviet Union?).

Oh and before people run off on the "liberal media" claim, it should be noted that this article is from the Wall Street Journal.

This is from "the Decider":

President Bush gave embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales a strong vote of confidence on Monday despite scant support and scathing criticism from key Republicans.

"This is an honest, honorable man, in whom I have confidence," Bush said.

The president said that Gonzales' testimony before skeptical Judiciary Committee senators last week "increased my confidence" in his ability to lead the Justice Department. Separately, a White House spokeswoman said, "He's staying."

That should settle that debate. Not the one on Gonzales, but rather Bush. He truly is the dumbest fuck in Washington. Even most Republicans feel that Gonzo bombed. I guess to Bush, great leadership means things going on in your department you don't approve, or aren't aware of.

Senator Coburn just said that to Gonzales. In other words - Gonzales is doing piss-poor today.

Appears to come from Arlen Specter while questioning Gonzo today:

"This is not a game of gotcha," said Specter. In a reflection of the stakes, he told the attorney general he faced the equivalent of a "reconfirmation hearing."

True confirmation hearings don't mean much with Bush in the White House. He just puts appointments up that will face a long confirmation so that he can make them a recess appointment.

Remember the failed Bernard Kerik nomination to run homeland security? Guess who was pushing the nomination through, regardless of legal troubles?

When former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani urged President Bush to make Bernard B. Kerik the next secretary of homeland security, White House aides knew Kerik as the take-charge top cop from Sept. 11, 2001. But it did not take them long to compile an extensive dossier of damaging information about the would-be Cabinet officer.

They learned about questionable financial deals, an ethics violation, allegations of mismanagement and a top deputy prosecuted for corruption. Most disturbing, according to people close to the process, was Kerik's friendship with a businessman who was linked to organized crime. The businessman had told federal authorities that Kerik received gifts, including $165,000 in apartment renovations, from a New Jersey family with alleged Mafia ties.

Alarmed about the raft of allegations, several White House aides tried to raise red flags. But the normal investigation process was short-circuited, the sources said. Bush's top lawyer, Alberto R. Gonzales, took charge of the vetting, repeatedly grilling Kerik about the issues that had been raised. In the end, despite the concerns, the White House moved forward with his nomination -- only to have it collapse a week later.

Wow no wonder Gonzales deserves to remain as our nation's top law enforcement official. He is great at judging people.

Robert Novak has gone after someone else this time, and it might not be who you would expect. This week, he takes none other than George Bush to the mat. Here are some great parts from it.

"Gonzales never has developed a base of support for himself up here," a House Republican leader told me. But this is less a Gonzales problem than a Bush problem. With nearly two years remaining in his presidency, George W. Bush is alone. In half a century, I have not seen a president so isolated from his own party in Congress -- not Jimmy Carter, not even Richard Nixon as he faced impeachment.

Republicans in Congress do not trust their president to protect them. That alone is sufficient reason to withhold statements of support for Gonzales, because such a gesture could be quickly followed by his resignation under pressure. Rep. Adam Putnam (Fla.), the highly regarded young chairman of the House Republican Conference, praised Donald Rumsfeld in November only to see him sacked shortly thereafter.

[SNIP]

The I-word (incompetence) is also used by Republicans in describing the Bush administration generally. Several of them I talked to cited a trifecta of incompetence: the Walter Reed hospital scandal, the FBI's misuse of the USA Patriot Act and the U.S. attorneys firing fiasco. "We always have claimed that we were the party of better management," one House leader told me. "How can we claim that anymore?"

[SNIP]

Regarding Libby and Gonzales, unofficial word from the White House is not reassuring. One credible source says the president will never -- not even on the way out of office in January 2009 -- pardon Libby. Another equally good source says the president will never ask Gonzales to resign. That exactly reverses the prevailing Republican opinion in Congress. Bush is alone.

So Bush is alone? Perhaps more Republicans need to start echoing that sentiment then. There certainly seems to be enough of them out there supporting Bush to the end. True that could really start changing soon as we get closer to the 2008 elections. But it wasn't Bush alone that brought down the GOP in 2006, it was a combination of Bush and the failed leadership of the GOP in Congress that both lead to their majority demise.

Novak also overlooked other examples of incompetence exhibited by this administration. Here are two big ones - Katrina and Iraq. Iraq is not any closer to being more secure and New Orleans is still in ruins almost 2 years later. Incompetence has followed this President none stop, which is why the other I word needs to come into play with Bush - Impeach. Impeachment is not some sort of punishment for Bush, but rather a needed step for our country to heal and start fixing all that has gone so wrong since he took office.

Yeah right! I am talking about old Gonzo, who has now landed in even more hot water:

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales approved plans to fire several U.S. attorneys in a November meeting, according to documents released Friday that contradict earlier claims that he was not closely involved in the dismissals.

The Nov. 27 meeting, in which the attorney general and at least five top Justice Department officials participated, focused on a five-step plan for carrying out the firings of the prosecutors, Justice Department officials said late Friday.

There, Gonzales signed off on the plan, which was crafted by his chief of staff, Kyle Sampson. Sampson resigned last week in the wake of the political firestorm surrounding the firings.

So we find yet another lie the nation's top law enforcement official told Congress. And with this kind of behavior we are to expect Bush's people to tell Congress the truth not under oath? Bull shit!

I say the House and Senate need to just go ahead and put the subpoenas out. Clinton had 49 aides testify under oath, so we have a precedent. Congress wants to discuss Rove and Mier's conversations with Gonzales, not Bush, which takes the cover of "executive privilege" off the table. This is a showdown the White House will loose.