Gonzales must resign now. "Mistakes were made."

Mr. Ashcroft could join him. Mr. Comey said Mr. Mueller was also prepared to quit.

The next morning, March 11, Mr. Comey went to the White House for a morning terrorism briefing. Afterward, he said Mr. Bush took him aside for a private 15-minute meeting in the president's study, which Mr. Comey described as a "full exchange."

At Mr. Comey's urging, Mr. Bush also met with Mr. Mueller, who emerged to inform Mr. Comey that the president had authorized the changes in the program sought by the Justice Department.

"We had the president's direction to do what we believed, what the Justice Department believed, was necessary to put this on a footing where we could certify to its legality," Mr. Comey said. "And so we set out to do that and we did that."Mr. Comey said he signed the reauthorization in "two or three weeks." It was unclear from his testimony what authority existed for the program while the changes were being made. Mr. Comey said he shelved his resignation plans that day when terrorists set off bombs on commuter trains in Madrid.

Mr. Comey left the Justice Department in August 2006, saying publicly that he had never intended to serve through the end of Mr. Bush's second term. Privately, he has told friends that he grew weary of what he felt was increasing White House influence on the agency.

Tony Snow, the White House spokesman, deflected questions about Mr. Comey's testimony, but defended the N.S.A. program. Mr. Snow also noted that the Justice Department placed the program under the supervision of a special intelligence court earlier this year, which department officials said placed the program on an even firmer legal footing.

"Jim Comey can talk about whatever reservations he may have had, but the fact is that there were strong protections in there," Mr. Snow said. "This is a program that saved lives, that is vital for national security, and furthermore has been reformed in a bipartisan way that is in keeping with everybody."

Spokesmen for Mr. Ashcroft, Mr. Mueller, and the Justice Department declined to comment. Mr. Card did not respond to a reporter's inquiries.
=====

Now I am sorry about all the bad things I've said about John Ashcroft.

Joe(They've stolen the Justice Department, the bastards)Nation

I agree completely, that was completely f*cking outrageous to read

Cycloptichorn

Me too! I believed all along Ashcroft was part of the problem. That's what happens when insiders don't tell their story early enough for us to react to the right information. I think there were at least ten holy shites in that article.

a/p wednesday may 15, 2007

Alberto Gonzales; "the devil made me do it". "i mean... he made anyone but me do it."

"same here", declared embattled world bank head, Paul Wolfowitz.

there's this common thread with alla the bushie types that i just can't put my finger on...

Holy S**t X 6. Wow, that is right in line with the Saturday night massacre (Watergate). Thanks Joe (who can be interesting) Nation.

Incompetence+sense of entitlement+obstinance+refusal to take responsibility? Cause that's the sense i get.

It seems a common characteristic running through Bush and his gang of criminals - running our country.

Senators renew call for Gonzales' ouster By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer
13 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales came under renewed pressure Wednesday, as two more Republican senators came out against him and Democrats challenged his truthfulness about President Bush's no-warrant eavesdropping program.

The developments revived a debate over Gonzales' fitness to head the Justice Department a day after a former deputy attorney general recounted a dramatic hospital bedside confrontation between Gonzales and his predecessor, John Ashcroft.

Bush continued to stand by his longtime friend and adviser. "The president still has full confidence in Alberto Gonzales," said White House spokesman Tony Snow.

Ofcoarse Bush still "has confidence in Gonzales." All the king's pins are being bowled over one by one.

Meanwhile on the same lonely planet:


Joe(but, so far, not a single accusation of getting a blowjob)Nation

50 state AG's call for investigation into oil companies, DoJ under Gonzales refuses.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/5/17/12532/2804

Cycloptichorn

And even better,



http://thinkprogress.org/2007/05/17/breaking-senators-want-gonzales-no-confidence-vote/

He won't last long, no Republican can go on the record defending him any longer without getting pounded at the polls next year.

Cycloptichorn

Cyclo, I'm not as confident that the GOP congress members will vote a "no-confidence" vote against Gonzales. They are still supporting Bush and his war in Iraq by voting against removing our troops.

Yeah, but this is different. We aren't talking about cutting off money for the troops in the field, we're talking about getting rid of an incompetent at best, corrupt at worst AG.

The Republicans know that if they don't get rid of him soon, then every one of them who faces re-election will have campaign commercials pounding over and over how they voted to keep a corrupt guy - who they knew was corrupt and incompetent, there isn't much disagreement there - in office. It won't go over well.

Actually, I kind of hope they don't get rid of him for a while...

Cycloptichorn

The key corrupt-incompetent guy is really Bush, but he seems to be sailing along just fine even with low poll ratings and his push to "stay the course." His meanderings about setting goals for the Iraqi government is just talk without any substance; the Iraqi government doesn't have the influence or power to do what they are "told" by Bush. It's just a waste of time while our troops continue to get killed and maimed, and we spend two billion every week for a lost cause.

You are right -- Bush, like Reagan, is the teflon president. Nothing sticks to him. O'Neill, Clarke, Woodward, et al., have written scathingly about Bush, and I gather their books go directly into the remainder bin. It seems as though the American public doesn't care about the country being screwed over.

According to NPR this afternoon. the Dems propose next week a vote in the Senate expressing "no confidence" in Mr Gonzales. There seem to be a bunch of Repubs who could support that.

Dems seek no-confidence vote on Gonzales
By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer
17 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - Support for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales sank further Thursday as Democrats proposed a no-confidence vote, a fifth GOP senator called for his resignation and yet another Republican predicted he won't survive a congressional investigation.

The White House shrugged off the no-confidence idea as merely symbolic, and President Bush continued to stand by his embattled friend.

TPM has counted 10 Republican senators who have said 'Gonzo should resign.' That's quite a few!

I really hope that the no-confidence vote happens, and is passed, and Bush STILL doesn't fire him. That way we can impeach him!

Cycloptichorn

Does impeachment necessarily follow a "no confidence" vote?