Gonzlaes Resigns

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Officials say Gonzales has resigned

By JENNIFER LOVEN and LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writers 8 minutes ago

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has resigned, ending a months-long standoff with Republican and Democratic critics who called for his ouster over the Justice Department's botched handling of FBI terror investigations and the firing of U.S. attorneys, officials said Monday.

The likely temporary replacement for Gonzales is Solicitor General Paul Clement, who would take over until a permanent replacement is found, according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Justice Department planned a news conference for 10:30 a.m. in Washington. President Bush was expected to discuss Gonzales' departure at his Crawford, Texas, ranch., before leaving on a trip to western states.

Two administration officials speaking on grounds of anonymity said that Gonzales had submitted a resignation letter last Friday. These officials declined to be identified because the formal announcement about Gonzales was still pending.

A longtime friend of Bush, who once considered him for appointment to the Supreme Court, Gonzales is the fourth high-ranking administration official to leave since November 2006. Donald H. Rumsfeld, an architect of the Iraq war, resigned as defense secretary one day after the November elections. Paul Wolfowitz agreed in May to step down as president of the World Bank after an ethics inquiry. And top Bush adviser Karl Rove earlier this month announced he was stepping down.

A frequent Democratic target, Gonzales could not satisfy critics who said he had lost credibility over the Justice Department's botched handling of warrantless wiretaps related to the threat of terrorism and the firings of several U.S. attorneys.

As attorney general and earlier as White House counsel, Gonzales pushed for expanded presidential powers, including the eavesdropping authority. He drafted controversial rules for military war tribunals and sought to limit the legal rights of detainees at Guantanamo Bay — prompting lawsuits by civil libertarians who said the government was violating the Constitution in its pursuit of terrorists.

Bush and Gonzales had lunch over the weekend in advance of announcing his resignation. One said that Gonzales' resignation would take effect in two or three weeks.

Gonzales among about a dozen senior administration officials to resign amid a protracted congressional investigation into whatever role politics played in the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys.

"It has been a long and difficult struggle but at last, the attorney general has done the right thing and stepped down," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and one of the department's most vocal critics.

The flap over the fired prosecutors proved to be the final straw for Gonzales, whose truthfulness in testimony to Congress was drawn into question.

Lawmakers said the dismissals of the federal prosecutors appeared to be politically motivated, and some of the fired U.S. attorneys said they felt pressured to investigate Democrats before elections. Gonzales maintained that the dismissals were based the prosecutors' lackluster performance records.

Thousands of documents released by the Justice Department show a White House plot, hatched shortly after the 2004 elections, to replace U.S. attorneys. At one point, senior White House officials, including Rove, suggested replacing all 93 prosecutors. In December 2006, eight were ordered to resign.

In several House and Senate hearings into the firings, Gonzales and other Justice Department officials failed to fully explain the ousters without contradicting each other.

U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president, and can be removed. But congressional Democrats said politics played an unusually key role in the ouster of several prosecutors.

Bush repeatedly defended the firings of the prosecutors but acknowledged that he did not think Gonzales had done a good job of explaining it to Congress.

Finally! Four down, and at least, 2 more to go!

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@aaronssongs,

Quote:

Lawmakers said the dismissals of the federal prosecutors appeared to be politically motivated,

Tell me what fed prosecutor job isn't political? They keep talking about the rule of law but they never say what rule he broke?

1 Reply

@aaronssongs,

not before time :thumbup:

0 Replies

@Drnaline,

Drnaline;33007 wrote:

Tell me what fed prosecutor job isn't political? They keep talking about the rule of law but they never say what rule he broke?

Well, contrary to popular belief..."they" don't need to answer to drnaline...drnaline ain't that important. He broke the rule of law....he became ineffective...he resigned. end of the story...perhaps....perhaps not.

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@aaronssongs,

What rule of law did he break? They won't answer, maybe you can?

2 Replies

@Drnaline,

Drnaline;33049 wrote:

What rule of law did he break? They won't answer, maybe you can?

What would I gain by answering you? Your respect? Your confidence? Some humility, on your part? An apology? Fat chance. You see, I gain nothing by answering you.
So suffer. If you were someone of integrity, I might consider it...but as it stands...well, hmmmm.

0 Replies

@aaronssongs,

Perjury.

He lied before a congressional judiciary committee about illegal wiretapping programs instituted by the bush administration.

Like Rove and several of bush's minions before him, Gonzo bailed before the **** hits the fan.

Anyone that knows anything about current events would know what he crime he committed.

Gonzales, like Rove, is under scrutiny for lying to Congress. Under direction from bush and cheney, Gonzales will be remembered in history as the infamous guardian and legal “justifier” for a regime of torture, massive secret spying of the American people and the suspension of Due Process and other cherished rights.

The crumbling of bush’s inner circle is a sure sign that those who participated in the criminal acts of the administration are seeking to avoid the hard glare of a country that has turned against the Iraq war and the administration itself.

0 Replies

@aaronssongs,

Regime of torture? Massive secret spying? Suspension of rights?

Good grief. It's a good thing you weren't around when the Patriots fought the British for our liberty. What do you think happened then?

Torture... You have no concept of torture if you think that making someone stand for a few hours is massive torture. Now, ripping their fingernails off might be considered torture but still isn't bad enough for those who seek to destroy the US.

Spying... I guess I value my safety more than I really care if someone listens in on my phone conversations. It's apparent that you didn't live during the days of the partyline phone systems. Back then you had all of your neighbors listening in on every conservation! My freedom is important to me but not at the price of the safety of this country. I don't care if they go into the local library and check the records of every book I have read. I don't care if they make me stand in line in the airport a little longer. And I sure in the heck don't care if they intercept my phone calls. I'm not doing anything that I want to hide!

It's not the inner-circle crumbling. It's people getting fed up with the liberals attacking like a bunch of yappy dogs constantly. Who can live with that? I think we should turn the tables and go after Pelosi and Reid in the same way. Now they have a lot of hide...

1 Reply

@aaronssongs,

So what you're saying is that because the degree of his crimes are less than previous attrocities that it makes HIS crimes OK?

If you don't see bushy's inner circle crumbling, it shows how out of touch with reality some people are.

I suppose next you'll be bringing up Clintons blow job.

Pathetic.

0 Replies

@aaronssongs,

they didn't break the law, in fact Clinton (also legally) fired 10X the federal prosecutors for the same reasons

since the last election there have been over 600 inquiries in congress, most with less ground to stand on then this, meanwhile the reason the Dem's were voted in (to figure out the Iraq War) has only been touched by Bush and company, the Dem's were elected on this and haven't sniffed it since (why else is congressional approval at an all time low?). In fact passed legislation is way down when compared to any other year in the Bush administration, and that is not Bush's fault, it's the newly elected majority.

Let me recap the actual series of events

-Bush hired an inexperienced friend to be AG

-GOP congress is cool with it

-Dems get Elected and ask why Bush fired some people

-Gonzales shows his inexperience with terrible wishy washy responses

-Dems shut down government to go fishing and really find dickall

-Gonzales faces unyielding pressure, doesn't have the experience to deal with it and still be effective, Bush realizes it wasn't such a good idea to hire his buddy to run a portion of the county

-Al resigns

All things fair he wasn't qualified to begin with, but the runaway witch hunt being conducted by Democrats is going to bite them in the booty during the general election, watch it happen

1 Reply

@aaronssongs,

Perjury isn't illegal???

What country are you from?

0 Replies

@aaronssongs,

Well

based on Clinton's time in office I wouldn't say it's ground for resignation lol

1 Reply

@westernmom,

westernmom;33101 wrote:

Regime of torture? Massive secret spying? Suspension of rights?

Good grief. It's a good thing you weren't around when the Patriots fought the British for our liberty. What do you think happened then?

Torture... You have no concept of torture if you think that making someone stand for a few hours is massive torture. Now, ripping their fingernails off might be considered torture but still isn't bad enough for those who seek to destroy the US.

Spying... I guess I value my safety more than I really care if someone listens in on my phone conversations. It's apparent that you didn't live during the days of the partyline phone systems. Back then you had all of your neighbors listening in on every conservation! My freedom is important to me but not at the price of the safety of this country. I don't care if they go into the local library and check the records of every book I have read. I don't care if they make me stand in line in the airport a little longer. And I sure in the heck don't care if they intercept my phone calls. I'm not doing anything that I want to hide!

It's not the inner-circle crumbling. It's people getting fed up with the liberals attacking like a bunch of yappy dogs constantly. Who can live with that? I think we should turn the tables and go after Pelosi and Reid in the same way. Now they have a lot of hide...

You may want to live in a Police State. I do not. What's the difference if we're run by a fascist and repressive Islamic state, or a fascist and repressive American one? I fail to see the benefits of either.
What any Democrat has ever done (Clintons, Reids, and Pelosi's notwithstanding), pales in comparison to the Republicans. This is the most corrupt administration in the country's history, bar none. What Bush and Co. have done makes Watergate look like a grade school prank.
Please go after Pelosi and Reid...please , please, please. Because you won't find anything remotely resembling this abomination of a presidency.

0 Replies

@Silverchild79,

Silverchild79;33104 wrote:

they didn't break the law, in fact Clinton (also legally) fired 10X the federal prosecutors for the same reasons

Appearances are everything...if Gonzales had fired them all, in the very beginning...no one would have blinked an eyelash...but he did it in the middle of the term...at the behest, undoubtably, of Rove, and therefore it looks "unseemly", at the very least, if not patently political

since the last election there have been over 600 inquiries in congress, most with less ground to stand on then this, meanwhile the reason the Dem's were voted in (to figure out the Iraq War) has only been touched by Bush and company, the Dem's were elected on this and haven't sniffed it since (why else is congressional approval at an all time low?).
You're forgetting the Dems razor thin majority, and the absolute need for Republican cooperation (which has been "non-existent")...so, the reason why the Dems can't do anything is not because of them, it's because of the Neanderthal Republican Trolls.

In fact passed legislation is way down when compared to any other year in the Bush administration, and that is not Bush's fault, it's the newly elected majority.
That is a patent untruth...the fault lies with the Republicans, who have hand tied the Dems, and refuse to compromise

Let me recap the actual series of events

-Bush hired an inexperienced friend to be AG
Nepotism

-GOP congress is cool with it
Good ol boys

-Dems get Elected and ask why Bush fired some people
Pure partisan politics

-Gonzales shows his inexperience with terrible wishy washy responses
Embarrassing and dangerous

-Dems shut down government to go fishing and really find dickall
Republicans are to blame

-Gonzales faces unyielding pressure, doesn't have the experience to deal with it and still be effective, Bush realizes it wasn't such a good idea to hire his buddy to run a portion of the county
Incompetent, butt kisser

-Al resigns
Thank god, finally

All things fair he wasn't qualified to begin with, but the runaway witch hunt being conducted by Democrats is going to bite them in the booty during the general election, watch it happen

You watch

0 Replies

@Silverchild79,

Silverchild79;33107 wrote:

Well

based on Clinton's time in office I wouldn't say it's ground for resignation lol

It was the reason Clinton was impeached...'cuse me.
It was good enuf for him, but not good enuf for Gonzales, Cheney and Bush?????? You people slay me.

0 Replies

@Drnaline,

Drnaline

buddy, the proof is in the telling. ever talked to a guy and they just could not tell the truth, kept smiling while they denied, denied denied, and couldn't remember enough to give details. I've seen his behavior before congress for years and it alays add's up to lies.

gonzales has been convicted of nothing. But after having caught most of his testimony twice before congress he is either

A - half retarded and should not have been our AG anyway

or

B- the biggest liar that has appeared before congress in many a year.

I think its B, at least for his sake I hope so.

The guys testimony was a joke. Literally over 50 times in one hour block of testimony he said " i can't recall" I was laughing so hard waiting on the next I can't recall . Sort of a comedy club performance at the congress ole Gonzales was.

He is hiding a lot of wrong doing with all those I can't recall's.

Besides the fact that his second and third in command under him have came into congress right behind him and said that some of what he said was to say the least mis stated, and that they could not understand why he couldn't recall since he was there at all the meetings and signed off on all the memo's.

So which do you think it is? Is he too stupid to be the US Attorney General?

Or is he a liar?:dunno:

Drnaline;33049 wrote:

What rule of law did he break? They won't answer, maybe you can?

2 Replies

@wvpeach,

wvpeach;33247 wrote:

So which do you think it is? Is he too stupid to be the US Attorney General?

Or is he a liar?:dunno:

I'm going to say a little bit of part A and a little bit of part B.

0 Replies

@wvpeach,

wvpeach;33247 wrote:

Drnaline

buddy, the proof is in the telling. ever talked to a guy and they just could not tell the truth, kept smiling while they denied, denied denied, and couldn't remember enough to give details. I've seen his behavior before congress for years and it alays add's up to lies.

gonzales has been convicted of nothing. But after having caught most of his testimony twice before congress he is either

A - half retarded and should not have been our AG anyway

or

B- the biggest liar that has appeared before congress in many a year.

I think its B, at least for his sake I hope so.

The guys testimony was a joke. Literally over 50 times in one hour block of testimony he said " i can't recall" I was laughing so hard waiting on the next I can't recall . Sort of a comedy club performance at the congress ole Gonzales was.

He is hiding a lot of wrong doing with all those I can't recall's.

Besides the fact that his second and third in command under him have came into congress right behind him and said that some of what he said was to say the least mis stated, and that they could not understand why he couldn't recall since he was there at all the meetings and signed off on all the memo's.

So which do you think it is? Is he too stupid to be the US Attorney General?

Or is he a liar?:dunno:

I think it's closer to "both". He was Bush's man...until the very end. Bush was still praising him and lambasting the media and the Dems, yesterday!!!!
He will not admit to any wrongdoing, ever! Something is wrong with that picture. He's got to be psychotic, or an imbecile....or pathological liar.

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@aaronssongs,

:thumbup: Got to agree with fed up and aaron.

I think its a little of both too.

:withstupid: wonder if anybody in gonzales staff has the nerve to buy some "I'm with stupid tee shirts" and hand them out to celebrate his resignation.

Yeah aaron I noticed, Bush insisted on saying a good man had been dragged through the mud..... what? A man with so little brains he claims he can't remember what happened last month, or a blatant liar? Gonzales dragged himself through the mud. It was apparent during the congressional hearings that republicans were in pain watching gonzales testify. They wanted to cut the idiot a break, but he just made it impossible. I can't recall, I can't recall, yet his second , third and fourth in command seem to recall just fine.

Bush either

A- did not watch gonzales testimony before cogress

or

B- this whole administration is dillusional, or half retarded.

I can't believe Bush is this stupid. So I got to go with dillusional!:dunno: :dunno:

0 Replies

@aaronssongs,

When all you all think you can do better, step on up to the plate. You still have time to get in this campaign.

1 Reply

Gonzlaes Resigns

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