GOP Support for Attorney General Erodes

WOW, IT TOOK THIS LONG FOR THE GOP TO COME OUT AGAINST ALBERTO I WILL TORTUE LITTLE CHILDREN GONZALEZ. THIS MAN LIED ON NATIONAL TV AND STATED HE KNEW NOTHING ABOUT THE FIRINGS, BUT NOW IT HAS COME OUT THAT THE MEETING TOOK PLACE IN HIS OFFICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OOPS, YOU DID NOT COVER THAT DID YOU YOU......


By Lara Jakes Jordan
The Associated Press

Sunday 25 March 2007

Republican support for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales eroded Sunday as two key senators sharply questioned his truthfulness and a Democrat joined the list of lawmakers who want him to resign over the firing of eight federal prosecutors.

"We have to have an attorney general who is candid and truthful. And if we find out he's not been candid and truthful, that's a very compelling reason for him not to stay on," said Sen. Arlen Specter, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees the Justice Department.

Specter, R-Pa., said he would wait until Gonzales' scheduled testimony next month to the committee on the dismissals before deciding whether he could continue to support the attorney general. He called it a "make or break" appearance.

To Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., Gonzales "does have a credibility problem. ... We govern with one currency, and that's trust. And that trust is all important. And when you lose or debase that currency, then you can't govern. And I think he's going to have some difficulties."

Hagel cited changing stories from the Justice Department about the circumstances for firing the eight U.S. attorneys. "I don't know if he got bad advice or if he was not involved in the day-to-day management. I don't know what the problem is, but he's got a problem. You cannot have the nation's chief law enforcement officer with a cloud hanging over his credibility," Hagel said.

Additionally, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., called for Gonzales to step down over his conflicting statements on how involved he was in the dismissals last fall. Democrats contend the prosecutors' firings were politically motivated.

Feinstein, whose state lost two U.S. attorneys in the purge - in San Diego and San Francisco - joined a growing number of Democrats and Republicans in calling for Gonzales' ouster. She said she now believes Gonzales has not told the truth about the firings.

"I believe he should step down," said Feinstein, also on the Senate Judiciary Committee. "And I don't like saying this. This is not my natural personality at all. But I think the nation is not well served by this. I think we need to get at the bottom of why these resignations were made, who ordered them, and what the strategy was."

Gonzales has said he participated in no discussions and saw no memos about plans to carry out the firings on Dec. 7 that Democrats contend were politically motivated.

His schedule, however, shows he attended at least one hourlong meeting, on Nov. 27, where he approved a detailed plan to execute the prosecutors' firings.

The White House has stood by Gonzales, saying the documents do not conflict with Gonzales' earlier statements. "The president continues to have confidence in the attorney general," a spokesman said Saturday.

Specter appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press," Feinstein spoke on "Fox News Sunday," and Hagel was on "This Week" on ABC.

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Reid Says Gonzales to Leave Within Month "One Way or the Other"
By Laura Litvan
Bloomberg

Friday 23 March 2007

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he doesn't expect Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to survive the uproar over the firing of eight U.S. attorneys and predicted he will be gone in a month, "one way or the other."

Reid, a Nevada Democrat, also said he envisions the outlines of a compromise with the Bush administration about testimony of White House officials in a probe of the firings that would allow some administration officials to testify in private without sworn testimony, as long as the deal doesn't involve Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove.

"Certainly, Karl Rove, with his resume, would have to be under oath," Reid, 67, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV's "Political Capital with Al Hunt," scheduled to air this weekend. "He simply in my opinion, and I think the majority of the American people, is not trustworthy."

The House and Senate judiciary panels voted this week to authorize subpoenas to compel testimony by Rove and other White House officials. The administration is insisting that the officials be permitted to talk in private with lawmakers and not under oath.

Reid stressed that he thinks a compromise is possible, and that not all officials need to give sworn statements. "Well, I think that there could be some testimony taken in private" and "would be recorded," Reid said. "We could do that."

The battle over the removal of the U.S. attorneys has been brewing for weeks. The Justice Department said it dismissed the eight prosecutors for poor performance and over their policy differences with administration officials in Washington. Those assertions were contradicted by high performance ratings given many of the prosecutors' offices.

White House Role

Internal e-mails later revealed that White House aides had played a role in firing the prosecutors, and Democrats said Congress must determine whether the dismissals were for improper political motives.

Yesterday, White House spokesman Tony Snow rejected a compromise proposed by Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee. Specter suggested that White House aides testify in private without taking an oath and that the session be transcribed. The Bush administration opposes an official transcript.

"Our offer is our offer," Snow said when asked about Specter's idea. "It's a no."

"Scandals"

Reid in the interview said he didn't know if the White House is engaged in obstructing justice, though he said the matter is emerging as one of the Bush administration's most troubling "scandals."

"This is a scandal and the American people are interested in the truth, and that's always a little hard to come by, especially when you have Karl Rove involved in the scenario," Reid said.

Reid has repeatedly questioned Rove's integrity because he was embroiled in the recent federal investigation of the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity. Former vice presidential aide I. Lewis Libby was convicted March 6 of lying to investigators in the only criminal case sparked by the leak, and Rove made five grand jury appearances in the case.

Yesterday, Rove's lawyer issued a statement after Reid continued to insist on Rove's testimony under oath.

"Due process is not about pursuing the results you want," said attorney Robert Luskin. "Senator Reid should show a healthier respect for our system of justice than his unwarranted remarks reflect."

Budget

In the interview, Reid also hailed Senate passage today of a fiscal 2008 budget plan that will boost spending for domestic programs beyond what Bush requested. He said Republicans repeatedly failed to agree on an annual budget plan when they controlled Congress.

"They couldn't pass the budget," Reid said. "We passed it because in our budget, we recognized that America has failed in many different respects."

Reid said he believed Congress would pass legislation requiring the administration to get authorization for military action against Iran.

"We've had it with this president and having these wars that he thinks he's the only one who decides what should be done," Reid said. "We don't need another war like" the conflict in Iraq, based on "manipulated" intelligence.

He also said he believed the Senate would pass legislation similar to a measure approved by the House today that sets a timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.

"We're going to do the same thing in the Senate," he said.

Reid predicted that the Senate will pass immigration legislation that includes a guest-worker program, which Bush supports over the opposition of many Republican lawmakers.

"There is going to be bipartisan support," he said.