Gonzales' hold on job grows uncertain

AP on Yahoo ^ | 3/19/07 | Laurie Kellman - ap

[NormsRevenge]

WASHINGTON - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' hold on his job grew more uncertain Monday as the Senate debated removing his authority to unilaterally name U.S. attorneys and the White House said it merely hoped he would survive the tumult.

Asked if Gonzales had contained the political damage from the firing of eight federal prosecutors, White House spokesman Tony Snow said, "I don't know."

Snow declined to predict how long Gonzales would stay in his job but reiterated President Bush's support of him.

"No one's prophetic enough to know what the next 21 months hold," Snow said. "We hope he stays."

The Justice Department also planned to turn over to Congress late Monday a couple of thousand pages of new documents related to the firings.

White House counselor Dan Bartlett said that Bush had full confidence in Gonzales and that the attorney general had not offered to resign.

The good news for Gonzales late Monday was that the two most senior Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record) of Pennsylvania and Orrin Hatch (news, bio, voting record) of Utah, both former chairmen, had not called for a new attorney general. But neither were they endorsing the embattled Justice chief. Specter said he will reserve judgment until he gets all the facts; Hatch has not given interviews on the subject, his spokesman said.

Either way, Gonzales faces a tough week. The Senate was devoting Monday and Tuesday to debating and voting on rescinding his authority to appoint replacement U.S. attorneys without Senate confirmation.

"We need to close the loophole exploited by the White House and the Department of Justice that facilitated this abuse," Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record), D-Vt., said opening the debate.

In other trouble for the administration, the Justice Department's inspector general is to testify Tuesday and Wednesday before House and Senate committees on what he says was Justice's misuse of its power to secretly go through people's financial, Internet and other records in terrorism cases.

Gonzales, himself, is the star witness Thursday before a House panel considering his department's budget request. That will be his first public appearance on Capitol Hill since Bush told him last week to quickly patch up relations with lawmakers.

There was no indication that would happen anytime soon. Not a single Republican in Congress has come to Gonzales' defense, though some have stated the administration's right to replace prosecutors without offering a reason.

One Republican senator has called for Gonzales' resignation and another has said the attorney general has lost the confidence of Congress. In the House, one GOP member has stepped forward to call for his replacement while another says he will do so if and when Gonzales testifies. Democrats widely have called for Gonzales to step down, including presidential hopefuls Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Edwards.

However, many Democrats — like most Republicans — are waiting to see what shoe falls next.

Democrats kept up their effort to find out why eight U.S. attorneys were fired after Dec. 7 — noting that six were involved in public corruption cases at a time when Republicans were still smarting from being stripped of their congressional majority in the November elections.

Some of those fired had pursued Republicans in corruption cases; one, David Iglesias of New Mexico, said he had refused political pressure to rush indictments that would hurt Democrats.

"If any U.S. attorney were removed because of a public corruption investigation or prosecution, this could well comprise obstruction of justice," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif. She said e-mails among Justice Department and White House officials show that "politics has in fact played some role."

The White House is expected to announce this week whether it will let political strategist Karl Rove and other officials testify in congressional hearings. White House counsel Fred Fielding was to meet Tuesday on that issue with leaders of two judiciary committees.

Some of Bush's staunchest allies urged the administration to stem the political damage by being more clear about the White House's role in the dismissals.

"I've told the attorney general that I think this has been mishandled, that by giving inaccurate information ... at the outset, it's caused a real firestorm, and he better get the facts out fast," said Sen. John Cornyn (news, bio, voting record), R-Texas, on Sunday.

Leahy has scheduled a vote by his Judiciary Committee for Thursday on whether to issue subpoenas for Rove, former counsel Harriet Miers and her deputy, William Kelley.

"I want testimony under oath. I am sick and tired of getting half-truths on this," Leahy said Sunday.

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, the top Republican on the committee, said he had a long talk with Fielding on Friday and was reserving judgment. Specter said he also would like to see Rove and Miers testify in public.

Gonzales initially had asserted the firings were performance-related, not based on political considerations.

But e-mails between the Justice Department and the White House contradicted that assertion. The e-mails showed that Rove, as early as Jan. 6, 2005, questioned whether the U.S. attorneys should all be replaced at the start of Bush's second term.

[woofie]

sounds like luke warm at best

[NormsRevenge]

'Purple Haze-y' Memories...

If some of the senior WH staff started a band, what would it be called.

Oh Wow Man!

E-mails released by the Justice Department Thursday implicated President George W. Bush's top political aide Karl Rove, seen here in January 2007, in a growing political scandal over purged government prosecutors. Citing "hazy memories," the White House on Friday overhauled explanations for a politically damaging late-2006 purge of federal prosecutors that may cost Attorney General Alberto Gonzales his job.(AFP/File/Jim Watson)

[jordan8]

That's the Republican/Modern Conservative way - stab your friends in the back the first time the liberal establishment orders you to.

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, the top Republican on the committee, said he had a long talk with Fielding on Friday and was reserving judgment.

The fact that they didn't get rid of this POS years aga* is proof positive.

Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Orrin Hatch of Utah, both former chairmen, had not called for a new attorney general. But neither were they endorsing the embattled Justice chief. Specter said he will reserve judgment until he gets all the facts; Hatch has not given interviews on the subject, his spokesman said.

Specter will plunge the dagger in, the Senator From Sony won't but will hem and haw till the last moment to avoid responsibility.

*Scottish variation.

[NormsRevenge]

The MSM is still pushing as hard as they can.. or have to..

[org.whodat]

That's the Republican/Modern Conservative way - stab your friends in the back

The half-ass, selective law enforcement attorney general is no friend of mine are anyone else that wants to see the laws of this country enforced.

[Ieatfrijoles]

If Shalala was brought back for the Walter Reed TASK FORCE. Is Janet Reno gonna . . . ? (is it that crazy to ask?)

[SamuraiScot]

Gonzales initially had asserted the firings were performance-related, not based on political considerations.

But e-mails between the Justice Department and the White House contradicted that assertion. The e-mails showed that Rove, as early as Jan. 6, 2005, questioned whether the U.S. attorneys should all be replaced at the start of Bush's second term.

Considering they were Clinton appointees, firing all of them would be performance-related. Who needs a bunch of al Qaeda-coddling Communists?

[NormsRevenge]

A shift of the earth's poles would likely ensue shortly thereafter. We love in straange times.

[NormsRevenge]

They weren't all Clinton appointees. :-|

[berserker]

Considering they were Clinton appointees

The Clinton people were replaced in 2001.

But Gonzales doesn't have anything to worry about. Not with Snow saying that "we hope he stays on." He's got nothing to worry about.

[pawdoggie]

Gonzales is a friend of GWB, but Karl Rove made the President politically. The President knows he can't allow the Democrats in Congress to start calling in his closest advisors (executive privilege), and as a Republican he doesn't want the 'Rats to make an '08 campaign issue out of his assertion of executive privilege. So (for now) the President, Karl, Tony, et al, are going to see what the impact of this manufactured story is on public perception, and if the President's approval rating drops into negative numbers, Al's gotta go.

[Prost1]

"The half-ass, selective law enforcement attorney general is no friend of mine are anyone else that wants to see the laws of this country enforced."

Yep, it seems he has had his own agenda, protecting the dems.

And, if he goes, maybe we can get and AG who will make the dems miserable for their excesses.

Congressman William Jefferson, dem, La....
Harry Reid, dem, Nevada...
Hillary Clinton, dem, NY (unlawful campaign contributions)
Ted Kennedy, dem, Mass, (drunk in public, drunk always)

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

I have never seen a more feckless administration, when facing Democrats and those on the left, than the current Bush administration. Even his old man went after the liberals a little and attacked them from time to time.

[The Spirit Of Allegiance]

Alberto La Raza fired eight folks...

...for doing/not doing jobs Americans just shouldn't/won't do...

...and now he gets/doesn't get fired. I see how it is.

Adios pronto, non amigo.

EVEN SO, I wish our President would FIGHT for his team and read my tagline!

BORK/COULTER FOR ATTORNEYS GENERAL. Hey, why not two!


And we must not forget--or fail to repair--the damage done to our Border Patrol by some in the Administration, whether or not heads roll.

[Brilliant]

Gonzales is too liberal.

[jveritas]

They are pushing as hard as they can on this fabricated scandal because the Surge is working very well in Iraq.

[NormsRevenge]

Talk about a Texas Tuck'n'Run,

rumor has Chertoff as a successor.. :-\ (barf bag available . What size?)

[NormsRevenge]

I see more coverage of anti-war than anything here in the Bay Area or maybe it's just me.

Talk about waging battles on multiple fronts.. and opponents including but certainly not limited to;
AlQaeda, their sympathizers in the media, gubamint and religion, Al Gore&GW, envirowackos, lawyers in sharks suits, sharks in lawyers suits, it's amazing to witness, it's makes you wonder how far they will go,,

The start of CNN's 360 tonite was pretty easily interpretable of rooting for the insurgents,, it's sickening and very indicative of society to a certain degree, that more than a few folks lap it up..

God Bless our troops as they confront our common enemies and fight the good fight that we may love and prosper... and damn those who aid and abet our enemies.

Ya see they hung Saddam's VeeP, well, one of them anyway. Tariq Aziz should be on deck soon.

[exit82]

" You're doing a hell of a job, Brownie"

DeLay, Lott, Frist, Rumsfeld, Libby, Brown... and soon Gonzales.

Maybe we'll defend the next one. For now, let's just jump to the Dems tune. Maybe they'll like us after all.

When do suppose the Republicans, in the Administration and in the Congress, will grow a pair?

Beuller? Anyone?

Mr. President, it's time to quit acting like a piece of carpet.