Gonzales: I've Done Nothing Wrong

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Sunday he has done nothing improper in the firings of eight federal prosecutors in testimony prepared for his appearance before a Senate panel widely viewed as a last chance to save his job.

"I have nothing to hide," Gonzales said in a statement released Sunday.

Democrats have accused Gonzales of trying to politicize the Justice Department by making loyalty to the Bush adminstration a key factor in the firings.

In the statement released today by the Justice Department in advance of his appearance Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Gonzales said that decisions on whether to fire a prosecutor are not based on "whether the target is a Republican or a Democrat."

The Justice Department and the Bush Administration have mounted an all-out effort at damage control: a public relations blitz, reports CBS News White House correspondent Bill Plante.

In an op-ed article in today's Washington Post, Gonzales apologizes not for firing the attorneys but for what he calls an "undignified Washington spectacle."

Two Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee said Gonzales has an uphill battle in convincing the public he can lead the Justice Department.

Two days before Gonzales is to make a showdown appearance before Congress, Sen. Arlen Specter said none of Gonzales' public statements so far has convinced him that the department's ouster of eight U.S. attorneys was justified.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, another Republican member of the Judiciary Committee, said Gonzales has "an uphill struggle to re-establish his credibility with the committee given prior statements." Still, Graham said he believed Gonzales could save his job.

"He needs to explain what he did and why he did it," Graham said. "There are three our four different versions of his role in this, and he needs to bring clarity to what he did and why he did it."

Gonzales, a former White House counsel who became attorney general in 2005, will testify Tuesday before the committee, in what will likely be a make-or-break appearance for Gonzales.

Specter said Gonzales must explain the firing the U.S. attorneys case by case — and convince senators they were not done to interfere with or promote ongoing criminal investigations aimed at benefiting Republicans.

If he is unable to do so, Gonzales should consider reinstating the fired prosecutors, Specter said.

While a president has a right to replace U.S. attorneys for no reason at all, "you can't replace them for a bad reason," he said.

"The No. 1 question is, is he capable of administering the Department of Justice, did he have enough hands on to know what's happening? Can he explain why these individuals were asked to resign and justify the reasons for doing so?" Specter said.

Specter spoke on ABC's "This Week," and Graham appeared on "Fox News Sunday."

[infidel_us]

considering that they were all republicans, all appointed by the republican White House and all approved by a republican controlled Senate. Only a true idiot like didntinhale could concluded that that makes them liberal.
Posted by RandalDS at 01:43 AM : Apr 17, 2007

This a**clown is the KING of lib lies!! I think he gets his news from Rosie O'Lardass & The View. Lam was appointed by Clinton. For all I know, the other 8 could be as well. He's one of the few who cares.

They're fired....and that's it. End of story. (Oh, except for bedwetting libs and the MSM.)
I'm surprised he hasn't acused Bush of staging the Va Tech massacre to cover up for Gonzales.

[randalds]

Now picking on Gonzo for firing those liberal Prosecutors that were probably releasing killers and child molesters.
Posted by didntinhale


Posted by firststate at 09:36 PM : Apr 16, 2007

He also got it wrong (no big surprise there) in referring to them as liberal prosecutors, considering that they were all republicans, all appointed by the republican White House and all approved by a republican controlled Senate. Only a true idiot like didntinhale could concluded that that makes them liberal.

[chasemonster]

- - !!! * SIZE MATTERS * !!! - - Hey Gonzales! How does it feel knowing that the only reason you have your job is because you're shorter than the bubble-boy? If our stupid little idiot-in-chief wasn't able to look down at you while you were having your pictures taken, then you'd probably be teaching christo-fascist law right now at Pat Robertson University!

muahahaha

[chasemonster]

- - !!! * SIZE MATTERS * !!! - - Hey Gonzales! How does it feel knowing that the only reason you have your job is because you're shorter than the bubble-boy? If our stupid little idiot-in-chief wasn't able to look down at you while you were having your pictures taken, then you'd probably be teaching christo-fascist law right now at Pat Robertson University!

muahahaha

[firststate]

Now picking on Gonzo for firing those liberal Prosecutors that were probably releasing killers and child molesters.
Posted by didntinhale

You've got it backward, they kept the ones releasing child molesters when told to do so. Read the article headlined, "Embattled AG now accused in teensex scandal 'cover-up' - AG, among officials who allegedly ignored abuse of minor boys"
US Atty in Tex was ready to indict in the case where minor boys had been ongoing victims of pedophiles, then word came down from DOJ and his office suddenly declined to prosecute. Officers at a Tex Youth Comm facility committed the serial sexual molestation of boys in their custody. Gov. Rick Perry - R, was up for re-election and the Texas Ranger investigating is sure that's why the pedophiles weren't prosecuted by the U.S. I actually have a source, it's:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54861

One US Atty DIDN'T PROSECUTE serial CHILD MOLESTERS for political reasons and kept his job. Freddo KEPT ONE FOR RELEASING CHILD MOLESTERS.

[realpatriot1]

"I am not a crook."-R. Nixon

"I did not have *** with that woman'-B. Clinton

"I did nothing wrong."-A. Gonzalez

[tucano2]

From post-WW2 trials quote I was just following orders unquote. Same story concerning Mr. Gonzales and Messrs. Bush/Cheney/Rove. Those four ought to get the same treatment as those in the post-WW2 trials.

[frankly6]

OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE, connecting the dots:


Gonzales chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, denied that former U.S. Attorney Carol Lam in San Diego might have been fired for investigating a top Republican CIA official and a Republican lawmaker.


The day after Carol Lam notified the Justice Department that she was issueing search warrants on the two prominent Republican co-conspirators in the Duke Cunningham bribery scandals, Kyle Samson sent an email to the White House saying we've got a "real problem" with Lam. He also suggested that she be removed sooner than later. She was abruptly fired.


In testimony before Congress, Samson said that the "problem" was that she was not agressive enough on immigration cases. However, Carol Lam is listed amoung the top three most successful prosecutors of immigration cases in the entire country. In fact she has a 100% conviction rate on immigration cases. The head of the U.S. Border Protection Agency issued her a letter of commendation citing her effectiveness on combating migrant smuggling.


When asked if Lam had been notified of the "problem" before she was abruptly fired, Samson said, "uh.....um.......no".



Dan Dzwilewski, FBI special agent-in-charge in San Diego, said of Lam's dismissal, "I guarantee politics was involved." He was subsequintly ordered to stop talking to the media.

[jjreding-2009]

Um, didntinhale - It was a Republican - Nixon (Remember him?) who ultimately pulled our troops out of Viet Nam, not the Dems. Also, since Halliburton was given carte blanche in Iraq to do whatever they wanted and to bring in whoever they wanted (Brown & Root), and since Halliburton has made billions of dollars since the war started, I guess you're right that they aren't profiteering from the war. Wish I wasn't profiteering to that tune. You speak with blinders on dude. Better take 'em off and see what's going on in the REAL world.

[macusweil]

Torture boys mantra- "I've Done Nothing Wrong.. I've Done Nothing Wrong.."