March 29, 2007
Former Cheif Of Staff Says Gonzales Was Involved in DOJ Firings
I can't claim that I've been following the story of Attorney General Gonzales and the U.S. District Attorney firings case much, as I've had other things I find personally more interesting to discuss. That said, I've scanned the headlines, and today's testimony by the AG's former Cheif of Staff is casting fresh doubts on Gonzales' memory at best, and his honesty at worst:
The former chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales testified today that contrary to Mr. Gonzales’s earlier assertions, the attorney general was involved in discussions to fire United States attorneys."I don't think the attorney general's statement that he was not involved in any discussions about U.S. attorney removals is accurate," the former Gonzales aide, D. Kyle Sampson, said under questioning at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
"I don't think it's accurate," Mr. Sampson repeated under questioning by Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the panel’s ranking Republican. "I think he's recently clarified it. But I remember discussing with him this process of asking certain U.S. attorneys to resign, and I believe that he was present at the meeting on Nov. 27."
It was disclosed last week that Justice Department documents showed Mr. Gonzales to be present at the Nov. 27, 2006, session in which the firing of federal prosecutors was discussed. That disclosure seemed to contradict Mr. Gonzales’s assertions at a March 13 news conference that he was not involved in talks about letting the prosecutors go.
I said a few weeks ago that I don't know if the issue of the dismissals is important or not, but if he's lying or has severe memory problems, either would seem to mean he is unfit to continue in his role as Attorney General.
At this point, whether the firings were legitimate or not seems inconsequential. If the United States Attorney General cannot adequately and competently defend himself over an issue that doesn't seem to be remotely criminal, he hardly seems fit to defend the laws of this nation.
The daunting ailment that has plagued those in the service of the White House continued to take its toll on the President's minions. Today, members of a congressional investigative committee continued their efforts to find the source of the ailment as it seems to be highly contagious. The most recent strains seem to be far more pervasive yet determining its origin continues to remain elusive. Senator Chuck Schumer closed his questioning by offering the hypothesis that the ailment was a virulent form of blatant lying.
Many within the media stepped in to immediately offer the public a layman's interpretation of the symptoms as well as analysis of the ongoing implications if a cure for the ailment could not be administered soon. The White House continued to downplay the seriousness of the ailment as it sought to allay the growing fears within the American public that the disease might soon decimate the bulk of their elected officials. A growing number of pundits continued to suggest that the President is in denial as to the severity of the ailment and what it might do to the Republican Party.
See a tongue-in-cheek visual spoofing an upcoming episode of Saturday Night Live featuring a guest appearance by "The President's Prevaricators"...here:
Posted by: Daniel DiRito at March 29, 2007 09:55 PMeither would seem to mean he is unfit to continue in his role as Attorney General.
Torch Reno continued on after Waco. This is nothing compared to that.
Posted by: Purple Avenger at March 30, 2007 06:19 AMI am not sure that using Reno is an effective way of defending Gonzo
Posted by: John ryan at March 31, 2007 01:24 PM
