Attorney General Gonzales resigns

[ChamberedRound]

From Yahoo:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070827/...zKG1Z9dt4E1vAI

Attorney General Gonzales resigns

By Jackie Frank and David Morgan
49 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned from office on Monday, ending a controversial tenure as chief law enforcement officer that blemished the administration of President George W. Bush.

U.S. officials, who confirmed his departure, said Gonzales was to make a formal statement at the Justice Department at 10:30 EDT. Bush was also expected to make a statement later Monday morning, but a senior administration official said the president had not yet decided on a nominee to replace him.

U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement will serve as acting attorney general, the official said, amid speculation that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff could be a candidate for a permanent replacement.

A 51-year-old Bush loyalist, Gonzales was at the center of a political firestorm over the sacking of federal prosecutors last year, which critics in Congress complained were politically motivated, and faced a possible perjury investigation for his testimony before Congress.

Gonzales spoke to Bush by telephone on Friday and then visited him on Sunday at his Crawford ranch, where he formally submitted his letter of resignation, said another senior administration official.

"He (Bush) very reluctantly accepted it," the official said. Asked whether anyone from the White House had suggested that Gonzales resign, the official said: "It was his decision."

Reaction from Democrats was swift.

Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, blamed Gonzales and Bush for "a severe crisis of leadership" at the Justice Department.

"I hope the attorney general's decision will be a step toward getting to the truth about the level of political influence this White House wields over the Department of Justice and toward reconstituting its leadership," he said in a statement.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said: "This resignation is not the end of the story. Congress must get to the bottom of this mess and follow the facts where they lead, into the White House."

Gonzales is the latest member of Bush's inner circle to leave the White House as the administration heads toward the final year of its two-term reign. Top Bush adviser Karl Rove departed last week, following former communications director Dan Bartlett earlier this year.

Gonzales worked for Bush when he was governor of Texas in the 1990s. He served as White House lawyer in Bush's first term as president before becoming the first Hispanic attorney general in February 2005.

Current and former administration officials had said the department's integrity had been damaged under Gonzales with controversy over the firing of the prosecutors, his support for Bush's warrantless domestic spying program adopted after the September 11 attacks and other issues.

EMPLOYEE MORALE

They said as a result employee morale had been hurt and Gonzales' relations with the Democratic-controlled Congress had deteriorated beyond repair in a firestorm of criticism from lawmakers, including some Republicans.

Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania told Gonzales earlier this year, the Justice Department was "dysfunctional." But Gonzales told Congress, "I have decided to stay and fix the problems."

While acknowledging mistakes in the handling of the dismissals, Gonzales had denied the firings were politically motivated to influence federal probes involving Democratic or Republican lawmakers.

Gonzales also came under fire after his deputy James Comey testified before Congress that while at the White House Gonzales attempted to pressure critically ill John Ashcroft, then-attorney general, to accept the domestic surveillance program.

Only in January, in an abrupt reversal, Gonzales said the domestic-spying program finally would be subject to court approval.

Gonzales also drew fire from civil liberties groups for writing in January 2002 that parts of the half-century-old Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war were "obsolete" and some provisions were "quaint."

Bush has defended Gonzales and cited Gonzales' rise as an achievement for Hispanics, the largest minority in the United States.

"I haven't seen Congress say he's done anything wrong," Bush said at a recent news conference. "As a matter of fact, I believe we're watching ... a political exercise."

(Additional reporting by Deborah Charles, James Vicini and Tabassum Zakaria in Washington and Jeremy Pelofsky in Crawford, Texas)

[LorDiego01]

Is this Mr. Alberto "Its ok to crush a child's genitals to get his daddy to talk" Gonzales??

Good frigging riddance. Seems all these corrupt P.O.S. are finally catching some flak for their wrong doings..

One down... couple thousand to go.

[ChamberedRound]

Is this Mr. Alberto "Its ok to crush a child's genitals to get his daddy to talk" Gonzales??

Yessir, it's also the guy who summarily dismissed a large number of district AG's across the nation at the behest of the President because they disagreed with the current administration's policies, many of which are (as we all know) illegal and unconstitutional.

The problem isn't that they dismissed the AG's; they have the authority to do so. The problem was that after sacking the district AGs in question, they backfilled the positions with people sympathetic to the administration WITHOUT putting these people through the required Senate confirmation process, basically pushing an Executive agenda through its influence of the Judiciary vis-a-vis the new appointees.

The President can temporarily appoint, but within 90-120 days must have the appointees confirmed by the Senate. He never put them up for confirmation, even after official correspondence from the Senate that he must do so, and was supported in this breach of parliamentary procedure by AG Gonzales. The consequences? Nothing...

[LorDiego01]

Gonzales to Spend More Time Eavesdropping on His Family
‘Domestic Surveillance Begins at Home,’ Former A.G. Says

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned today, effective immediately, telling reporters that he wanted to spend more time eavesdropping on his family.

Mr. Gonzales, a champion of domestic surveillance and warrantless wiretaps while in office, said he was “totally stoked” about turning his prying eyes on his own family.

“Domestic surveillance begins at home,” Mr. Gonzales said at a White House press conference. “That means nobody in my family is above suspicion, not even the little ones,” an apparent reference to Mr. Gonzales’ children.
Standing by Mr. Gonzales’ side, President George W. Bush praised his former Attorney General, singling out his “courage” for ramping up his domestic spying program on his own family.

“If every head of every household was as willing to eavesdrop on his own family as my man Alberto is, we wouldn’t need a Homeland Security Department,” Mr. Bush chuckled.

Mr. Gonzales was noncommittal when a reporter asked him a question about the role that waterboarding and other forms of torture might play in his interrogation of family members.

“Nothing is off the table,” he said.

Asked about his tenure as Attorney General, Mr. Gonzales was candid about his stormy time in office: “Frankly, I can’t believe it took this long for them to shitcan me.”

A friend IMed this to me. Its reeks of "The Onion".

[Broomhandle]

Good riddance, but I am sure the replacement will be no better!

[MarcS]

the senate should refuse to confirm any bush loyalists. Hopefully they have learned their lesson.

[rev214]

bush loyalist or not, Gonzo was anti-RKBA...
i'll take a Dubya-buddy as long as he/she upholds the 2nd amendment...

and for a permanent replacement, Chertoff would be an awful choice...he doesn't believe in immigration enforcement...

[billamj]

The President can temporarily appoint, but within 90-120 days must have the appointees confirmed by the Senate. He never put them up for confirmation, even after official correspondence from the Senate that he must do so, and was supported in this breach of parliamentary procedure by AG Gonzales. The consequences? Nothing...

Actually if it is a recess appointment, which these were, they can server for up to a year AFTER the Senate comes back into session without having to be confirmed. Additionally both the Senate and the House passed a bill, as part of the Patriot Act, that allows the President to appoint Federal Attys without the requisite confirmation process. Not saying that it is good or bad just saying that the House and Senate brought it on themselves when they overwhelmingly approved a bad bill.

[theshadow]

Yessir, it's also the guy who summarily dismissed a large number of district AG's across the nation at the behest of the President because they disagreed with the current administration's policies, many of which are (as we all know) illegal and unconstitutional.
.

Err, not defending the guy, just setting the record straight. It was a total of Nine employees who serve at the pleasure of the President. As a comparison, Slick Willie Clinton did the same thing to over 100 District AGs, and there was no uproar over that.

Just setting the record straight, and giving some perspective. Still don't think it's right, in either case.

[ChamberedRound]

Bill, shadow,

Thanks for the clarification.