Chicago Sun-Times Editorial - With no credibility left, Gonzales should resign
Chicago Sun-Times Editorial - With no credibility left, Gonzales should resign
Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times
July 26, 2007
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should resign and spare the country the drudgery of a perjury investigation. The prospect of that was raised Tuesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee's hostile response to his denials and contradictions about his role in the firing of U.S. attorneys. Gonzales himself didn't always know whether he was coming or going.
He was at his most unconvincing when he refuted Deputy Attorney General James Comey's compelling account of Gonzales' rush to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft's hospital bed in 2004, when Gonzales was a White House aide. Even though Ashcroft was very ill and still sedated after surgery, Comey said, Gonzales pressured him to sign off on a domestic surveillance program before the Justice Department could KO it. His most notable achievement may be making the privacy-bashing Ashcroft look good.
It's not surprising that President Bush continues to stand by Gonzales. The attorney general hasn't done anything the president hasn't authorized him to do. But Bush, whose loyalty to his cronies is legendary, also insisted he would always stand by Donald Rumsfeld before forcing the defense secretary out. That he did so belatedly, long after a majority of Americans wanted Rumsfeld gone, speaks to this administration's obstinate refusal to change course or rethink its policies even when they have little chance of succeeding and there is little support for them.
This controversy isn't going away. On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee voted to seek contempt charges against White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten and former presidential counsel Harriet Miers for their refusal to cooperate in the inquiry. The pressure continues to mount as Gonzales' credibility continues to shrink. His office is supposed to stand for truth and justice. The longer he stays in it, the more he subverts those values.
Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times
July 26, 2007
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should resign and spare the country the drudgery of a perjury investigation. The prospect of that was raised Tuesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee's hostile response to his denials and contradictions about his role in the firing of U.S. attorneys. Gonzales himself didn't always know whether he was coming or going.
He was at his most unconvincing when he refuted Deputy Attorney General James Comey's compelling account of Gonzales' rush to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft's hospital bed in 2004, when Gonzales was a White House aide. Even though Ashcroft was very ill and still sedated after surgery, Comey said, Gonzales pressured him to sign off on a domestic surveillance program before the Justice Department could KO it. His most notable achievement may be making the privacy-bashing Ashcroft look good.
It's not surprising that President Bush continues to stand by Gonzales. The attorney general hasn't done anything the president hasn't authorized him to do. But Bush, whose loyalty to his cronies is legendary, also insisted he would always stand by Donald Rumsfeld before forcing the defense secretary out. That he did so belatedly, long after a majority of Americans wanted Rumsfeld gone, speaks to this administration's obstinate refusal to change course or rethink its policies even when they have little chance of succeeding and there is little support for them.
This controversy isn't going away. On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee voted to seek contempt charges against White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten and former presidential counsel Harriet Miers for their refusal to cooperate in the inquiry. The pressure continues to mount as Gonzales' credibility continues to shrink. His office is supposed to stand for truth and justice. The longer he stays in it, the more he subverts those values.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 9:41 AM
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