Gonzales Faces New Round Of Questioning

House Judiciary Committee Grills Attorney General On Prosecutor Firings, But Gonzales Reveals Little

(AP)  Attorney General Alberto Gonzales confidently deflected House Democrats' demands Thursday for details in the firings of U.S. attorneys, appearing ever more likely to survive accusations that the dismissals were politically motivated.

Republican lawmakers rushed to Gonzales' defense as the attorney general denied anew that the firings last year were improper.

The mostly muted five-hour hearing in front of the House Judiciary Committee was a sharp contrast to Gonzales' sometimes testy appearance three weeks ago when Senate Republicans questioned his competence to run the Justice Department. One senator at that session joined a small GOP chorus saying he should step down.

“I will work as hard as I can, working with this committee and working with DOJ employees, to reassure the American people that this department is focused on doing its job,” Gonzales said Thursday.

That didn't satisfy exasperated Democrats who accused Gonzales of being evasive.

“Your reputation is on the line, Mr. Attorney General. What do you have to say for yourself?” asked Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., adding that the “buck stops at the top.”

“I accept responsibility,” Gonzales answered,

President Bush has steadfastly stood by Gonzales, his longtime counselor and friend. Even career Justice Department staffers angered by the attorney general's response to the firings concede Gonzales appears to have beaten back calls to leave.

Republicans sought to portray the controversy as losing steam, and they pushed their Democratic counterparts to wrap up the congressional probe that has dogged the Justice Department since the beginning of the year.

“The list of accusations has mushroomed, but the evidence of wrongdoing has not,” said Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, top Republican on the committee. “If there are no fish in this lake, we should reel in our lines of questions, dock our empty boat and turn to more pressing issues.”

Still, Gonzales acknowledged low morale at the department. Career prosecutors have said that is stunting hiring, and private defense attorneys say it has led to government hesitation and indecisiveness in some courtrooms. Gonzales maintained, however, that the department's independence is intact.

“Contrary to being gun shy, this process is somewhat liberating in terms of going forward,” he said.

Gonzales repeatedly said he was unaware of many of the factors leading up to the dismissals because he relied on his former chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, to carry them out. He also said he could not clarify parts of the firing process that remain murky in his own mind while investigations of the dismissals continue.

He said he has “no basis to believe” that Todd Graves, the former prosecutor in Kansas City, Mo., left in early 2006 because he refused to endorse Justice Department allegations about voter fraud in Missouri. Gonzales praised the work of Debra Yang, formerly the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, who resigned in October to take a higher paying job at a private firm.

Neither Graves nor Yang are among the eight prosecutors whose dismissals are being investigated, but questions about their resignations have recently surfaced.

Gonzales denied that Bush's political adviser, Karl Rove, demanded last fall's ouster of then-New Mexico prosecutor David Iglesias. But he acknowledged that Rove had complained about stagnant voter fraud cases in three districts, including New Mexico, and noted those concerns were echoed by Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M.

Those complaints spurred suspicions that Iglesias was improperly fired because he refused to target Democrats.

On the other side, GOP Rep. James Sensenbrenner leaned on Gonzales on Thursday to speed the department's corruption investigation of Democratic Rep. William Jefferson of Louisiana.

“Congressman, you know I cannot talk about that,” Gonzales told Sensenbrenner, R-Wis.

“Well, everybody's talking about it except you,” Sensenbrenner answered. “The people's confidence in your department has been further eroded, separate and apart from the U.S. attorney controversy, because of the delay in dealing with this matter.”

Thursday's hearing served up more political bickering but few new facts about the firings.

At one point, as many as nine Capitol Police officers escorted a half-dozen protesters from the room out of concern they would disrupt the hearing.

Despite Committee Chairman John Conyers' plea that the hearing focus on the fired prosecutors, Republicans asked Gonzales about a range of topics, including terrorism and intellectual property theft. For his part, Gonzales mostly stuck to a script of accepting responsibility and pushing beyond the controversy — to Democrats' obvious skepticism.

“You have a situation where most people believe that you didn't tell the truth about the U.S. attorneys,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y. “If most people believe that the United States attorney general has not told the truth about why these U.S. attorneys were fired, how can they have confidence in your job?”

“I don't believe that's an accurate statement,” Gonzales responded. “And what I'm trying to do in appearances like this is to set the record straight.”

[pepperp1]

How long before we see charges filed this is another lie by the Attorney General to Congress. President Bush may be ok, in fact pleased with Alberto%u2019s performance and his lack of recall, which is covering up the believed involvement of the White House and Rove again, but we the taxpayers are not. Maybe one of our newly found courageous republican congressmen may want to also let the President know that we the people of the United States are unwilling to pay the salary of his cronies, enough the AG s continued cashing of his paycheck is theft and mis-use of our hard earned tax dollars.

[condumass]

GOPigs = fascists, PERIOD!

[inventagod2]

Even the last kid off the short bus knows it was Bu$h/Cheney/Rove who are traitors and crooks...

[mudrose-2009]

By golly let's get to the rock bottom of this b.s. and do it soon. After all, the little outies were told that their reputations would be ruined if they complained as if anyone would be so stupid as to threaten people thinking they'd get away with it. Yup, the which-way-did-he-go-George crowd wants to get to the bottom of this mock issue. My, my, between Iraq and the DOJ they can glide themselves into '08 without having to do a *** thing. Do-nothing Congress always denigrating our institutions.

[bks59]

Any reasonable person knows that an individual that achieves a high office cannot lack recall, therefore Gonzzy is lying or unfit for office, either way...

End of story.

[abbe7]

"Recent events must not deter us from our mission. I ask the committee to join me in that commitment and that rededication," he said, citing what he said were accomplishments in protecting national security and fighting pedophiles."

Like in Texas ...

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54882

[teeus]

"Even the last kid off the short bus knows..."

You know, it's probably because I haven't had my morning coffee yet, so I apologize in advance to bringing up something not directly related, but I find this "short bus" cr@p offensive. My autistic son takes the short bus. I realize that you think it's "just a saying" and it's not about anyone in particular, but it's not just a phrase to those of us who live it, so do you think you could make your points without bringing up inappropriate metaphors like "kid on the short bus" or "***"?

Thanks.

[jjp735i]

This had seemed to quiet down and I was begining to wonder did Congress slack off or had the media. This needs to be brought to an end. Why is Congress holding back on Rove? Just how afraid of this man are they?

[mudrose-2009]

Any reasonable person knows that an individual that achieves a high office cannot lack recall, therefore Gonzzy is lying or unfit for office, either way...

End of story.
Posted by bks59

Then you must be 10 - Can you remember what you ate three days ago unless your mommy made it for you?

[abbe7]

Reminds me Card's testimony at the Libby trial ...
How could somebody with such a bad memory be given such responsability ? He was asked by Fitzgerald.
Gonzales will soon claim that he has no memory of
anything concerning the firings because he had so many more important things to deal with ...

[bigsk8fan]

"Do-nothing Congress always denigrating our institutions." Posted by mudrose

I know. Thank god we voted in the Democrats to get rid of the do nothing, rubber stamping, W cronies. We now have accountability! It will be nice to get some accountability in the White House next year.

My favorite saying about neocons: Must be someone else's fault that preceded me.

[micma-2009]

After weeks of mock testimony, there you have it. Alberto Gonzales doesn%u2019t know what happened, but he assures you what he doesn%u2019t remember was handled properly.


When told by reporters that Gonzales had replied "I don't recall" 55 times in his first round of questioning, ranking committee Republican Sen. Arlen Specter quipped, "That's an improvement, I'd say."

[tejasdemo]

Go get 'em Dems !

[processorr2]

It's a known fact that Clinton fired seven hundred thousand Prosecutors in one hour because they looked at him funny.

Why do you liberals hate freedom so much?

[pepperp1]

How long before we see charges filed this is another lie by the Attorney General to Congress. President Bush may be ok, in fact pleased with Alberto%u2019s performance and his lack of recall, which is covering up the believed involvement of the White House and Rove again, but we the taxpayers are not. Maybe one of our newly found courageous republican congressmen may want to also let the President know that we the people of the United States are unwilling to pay the salary of his cronies, enough the AG s continued cashing of his paycheck is theft and mis-use of our hard earned tax dollars.

[hungry1968]

FARTKNOCKER2:

Every incoming president appoints his own US attorney's - that's a standard practice. Firing US attorneys in the middle of a term is unheard of - it almost never happens. They were all supposedly fired for "performance issues", but they never received one bad performance review in the 6 years they held office.

One of the attorney's fired prosecuted Rep. Cunnigham. (A Republican)

The Republican candidate for mayor in Seattle lost his re-election bid. He wanted the Democrat, (the winner), prosecuted for election crimes but had no proof. The US attorney refused to investigate because he didn't believe there was any wrong doing. Then he was fired in this scandal.

On and on it goes.

[im4honesty]

CLINTON fires 93 Attornies and ZERO Democrats say a word.
Posted by FARTKNOCKER2


Here we go again... the Bush administration commits a crime and their mindless followers sing a chorus of Clinton, Clinton, Clinton
Sha Na Na.

[im4honesty]

CLINTON fires 93 Attornies and ZERO Democrats say a word.
Posted by FARTKNOCKER2


Here we go again!!

The Bush administration commits a crime and their mindless followers bring a chorus of Clinton, Clinton, Clinton, Sha Na Na.

[soldat44]

It's a known fact that Clinton fired seven hundred thousand Prosecutors in one hour because they looked at him funny.

Why do you liberals hate freedom so much?



Posted by Processorr2 at 10:57 AM : May 10, 2007

700,000? Are you off your meds?

Good gravy...

[terrapin78]

DNC is making Chavez look pretty good..
Posted by FARTKNOCKER2 at 10:53 AM : May 10, 2007

So you are a Republicon Socialist. You seem to like Hugo!

[perception5]

Wow !!!!! Talk about beating a dead horse.

Dear 110th DO-NOTHING CONGRESS, is there any plans in during the next 1 1/2 years where you are going to pass legislation to:

1. Raise the minimum wage ?????? Still not passed

2. Fix Social Security ?

3. Reform Medicare ?

4. Pass immigration reform ?

etc ............etc.............. so far the only thing Americans are seeing are "POLITICAL" moves which is NOT the main reason why Americans voted for change in 2006.

If you don't get on the ball............................... more changes will be made in 2008.......

[perception5]

Wow !!!!! Talk about beating a dead horse.

Dear 110th DO-NOTHING CONGRESS, is there any plans in during the next 1 1/2 years where you are going to pass legislation to:

1. Raise the minimum wage ?????? Still not passed

2. Fix Social Security ?

3. Reform Medicare ?

4. Pass immigration reform ?

etc ............etc.............. so far the only thing Americans are seeing are "POLITICAL" moves which is NOT the main reason why Americans voted for change in 2006.

If you don't get on the ball............................... more changes will be made in 2008.......

[perception5]

Wow !!!!! Talk about beating a dead horse.

Dear 110th DO-NOTHING CONGRESS, is there any plans in during the next 1 1/2 years where you are going to pass legislation to:

1. Raise the minimum wage ?????? Still not passed

2. Fix Social Security ?

3. Reform Medicare ?

4. Pass immigration reform ?

etc ............etc.............. so far the only thing Americans are seeing are "POLITICAL" moves which is NOT the main reason why Americans voted for change in 2006.

If you don't get on the ball............................... more changes will be made in 2008.......

[jimmibear]

"THERE IS NO GOD, ONLY THE CLINTONS

I quit believing in god when my priest sexually abused me when I was a little boy.

THERE IS NO GOD, ONLY THE CLINTONS"

[jimmibear]

"THERE IS NO GOD, ONLY THE CLINTONS

I quit believing in god when my priest sexually abused me when I was a little boy.

THERE IS NO GOD, ONLY THE CLINTONS"

[jimmibear]

"THERE IS NO GOD, ONLY THE CLINTONS

I quit believing in god when my priest sexually abused me when I was a little boy.

THERE IS NO GOD, ONLY THE CLINTONS"

[micma-2009]

After weeks of mock testimony, there you have it. Alberto Gonzales doesn%u2019t know what happened, but he assures you what he doesn%u2019t remember was handled properly.


When told by reporters that Gonzales had replied "I don't recall" 55 times in his first round of questioning, ranking committee Republican Sen. Arlen Specter quipped, "That's an improvement, I'd say."

[pepperp1]

Representative Lamar Smith of Texas should attempt if it%u2019s is in his capability to discuss this issue of the DOJ s reputation for integrity and independence being called into question and move beyond his fish story which is stupid. His sound bites are just that, debate the substance of the issue Representative Smith not your RNC sound bites there are other folks beside your base who deserve answers and are outraged by this Administration politicization of Justice. What is your fear Congressman, that you can%u2019t be elected if the playing field is leveled no challenge to partisan redistricting, no bogus election fraud indictments; hopefully on this issue you are correct.

[nolalou]

FARTKNOCKER2,

Ok, exactly what problems did Clinton leave Bush with? A huge budget surplus? Don't worry, Ole Bush sure figured out how to get rid of that problem real quick!! I don't envy the next president (whoever it turns out to be) with the problems left behind by W! The Iraq war, and huge deficit , just to name two.

[taddles-2009]

"CLINTON fires 93 Attornies and ZERO Democrats say a word.
Posted by FARTKNOCKER2"

Yet another Republidum who can't read.

The Justice Department is tainted by partisan politics and should be purged. Fire all the attorneys, fire Gonzo and start from a clean slate with a new AG and new Attorneys that are not vetted for being "loyal Bushies".

I want a Justice Department that is loyal to the law, not to any one president or party. I don't care what party is in charge, the Justice Department MUST be above party politics.

If you dissagree with that sentiment then you agree with single party rule and you agree that the US should simply follow the path of the Soviet Union under Stalin, Nazi Germany Hitler or Cambodia under Pol Pot. Regardless of what ideology you believe in, everyone in this country should believe in the independance of the Judiciary. That is the cornerstone of Democracy and those people who want to destroy that should be treated as the traitors that they are.

[sevenveils]

The man is blatant with his lies. He is not senile like Regan was. His snake personality is starting to shed, showing what a real creep he is.

[pepperp1]

Maybe one of our newly found courageous republican congressmen may want to also let the President know that we the people of the United States are unwilling to pay the salary of his cronies, enough the AG s continued cashing of his paycheck is theft and mis-use of our hard earned tax dollars.

[gramto7]

1. Raise the minimum wage ?????? Still not passed
posted by perception5

The minimum wage bill WAS passed.. It was VETOED by dear old Dumbya!!

[pepperp1]

Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis how about Rep Doolittle, Rep Jerry Davis, Rep Ranzi because all of us are talking about them, except you.

[nyckate]

LOL - Bush and Conzalez don't get it - Reagan was allowed to get away with the 'I don't remember' BS cause he had a disease called Altzheimers - Bush might have some excuse- too many brain cells killed off with booze and drug addictions - but Gonzalez has nothing to fall back on - unless he's going to confess to being a secret drinker and head off the the Betty Ford Clinic???

But of course, in true Bush tradition of deceit and rehetoric, he's sure that whatever it is he doesn't remember, he and his office handled everything above-board. Gee - if it truly was above-board he and Bush'd be producing those strangely missing e-mails and there'd be memo's and meeting notes - oh yeah and testimony under oath from Rove and Miers too.

[londoninny]

The Bush/Cheney Administration has no choice to support its lackey's, including Gonzales and Wolfowitz, because if they are held accountable by Congress, the American people and the World Bank, it will raise bigger questions pointing directly to the White House. Pelosi may have wanted to not spend her finest hour off on a wild goose chase in Impeachment proceedings but that simple fact is that this is the singular MOST CORRUPT ADMINISTRATION IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. As Donald Trump has said, EVERYTHING HAS BEEN A LIE since Bush & Cheney came to power. Bush/Cheney=Nixon/Agnew on Steroids. Ironically these big scandals all keep coming at a time that their best friend Rupert Murdoch and NewsCorp. want to come take Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal off the hands of the Bancroft family. Should that happen, it will be the end of Democracy and Journalism in America. None of these folks have any respect for the Constitution and the rule of law. They must GO!

[nyckate]

LOL - Bush and Conzalez just don't get it - Reagan was allowed to get away with the 'I don't remember' BS cause he had a disease called Altzheimers - Bush might have some excuse- too many brain cells killed off with booze and drug addictions - but Gonzalez has nothing to fall back on - unless he's going to confess to being a secret drinker and head off the the Betty Ford Clinic???

But of course, in true Bush tradition of deceit and rehetoric, he's sure that whatever it is he doesn't remember, he and his office handled everything above-board. Gee - if it truly was above-board he and Bush'd be producing those strangely missing e-mails and there'd be memo's and meeting notes - oh yeah and testimony under oath from Rove and Miers too.

[lars008-2009]

the demonic-rats are useful idiots to fascist nazi islam...

Leftist Support of Islamist Terror
Most shocking is the outright sympathy of many leftist-liberals for Islamic fascism. They said little about the murder of 500 Russian civilians, many of them children, but screamed week after week because some Arab savage at Abu Ghraib prison wore a bag on his head. They cared nothing about the beheadings committed by the Islamo-savages or the execution of 12 Nepalese. David Horowitz gives an excellent discussion of who this "Left" really is. He calls them neo-communist, I call them Leftist-Liberals. I'm a classical Liberal myself and I feel it's time to remove this irrational element that has been allowed to poison our good name.
http://www.sullivan-county.com/immigration/list.htm
The Chorus of Useful Idiots
http://www.sullivan-county.com/immigration/thornton.htm
Supporters of Muslim Terrorism on the un-Religious Left
http://www.sullivan-county.com/id2/index1.htm
Exposing Leftists' Radical Islam Connection
http://www.sullivan-county.com/immigration/left_islam.htm
Definitions, Lies, and Losing Your Head
http://www.sullivan-county.com/immigration/def_lies.htm
Shocking (Liberal) Silence
http://www.sullivan-county.com/immigration/leftist_silence.htm
See no evil: Why the Left is blind to suffering
http://www.sullivan-county.com/immigration/no_evil.htm
When is violent speech still free speech?
http://www.sullivan-county.com/immigration/speech.htm

[londoninny]

The Bush/Cheney Administration has no choice to support its lackey's---including Gonzales and Wolfowitz--because if they are held accountable by Congress, the American people and the World Bank, it will raise bigger questions pointing directly to the White House (Karl Rove, Cheney and their band of criminals). Pelosi may have wanted to not spend her finest hour off on a wild goose chase in Impeachment proceedings but the simple fact is that this is the singular MOST CORRUPT ADMINISTRATION IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. As Donald Trump has said, EVERYTHING HAS BEEN A LIE since Bush & Cheney came to power. Bush/Cheney=Nixon/Agnew on Steroids. Ironically, these big scandals all keep coming at a time that their best friend Rupert Murdoch and NewsCorp. want to come take Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal off the hands of the Bancroft family. Should that happen, it will be the end of Democracy and Journalism in America. None of these folks have any respect for the Constitution and the rule of law. They must GO!

[tucano2]

If Mr. Gonzales had any American values he would resign immediately. If Mr. Bush had not surrendered to Mexico and the 12 to 24 Million Illegal Aliens who have already invaded the USA he would fire Mr. Gonzales immediately. Sadly neither Mr. Gonzales nor Mr. Bush have either American values or the best interests of the USA at heart.

[tucano2]

If Mr. Gonzales had any American values he would resign immediately. If Mr. Bush had not surrendered to Mexico and the 12 to 24 Million Illegal Aliens who have already invaded the USA he would fire Mr. Gonzales immediately. Sadly neither Mr. Gonzales nor Mr. Bush have either American values or the best interests of the USA at heart.

[tucano2]

If Mr. Gonzales had any American values he would resign immediately. If Mr. Bush had not surrendered to Mexico and the 12 to 24 Million Illegal Aliens who have already invaded the USA he would fire Mr. Gonzales immediately. Sadly neither Mr. Gonzales nor Mr. Bush have either American values or the best interests of the USA at heart.

[realpatriot1]

Once the e-mails are produced( and they will be...by the independent Fed agencies) there will be a whole lot of sudden remembering.

[lars008-2009]

Appeal for Redress
Sign this Appeal.
This site is an Appeal For Redress in support of our mission in Iraq.
An Appeal For Redress is an authorized means for active duty military to submit a grievance to Congress. It can be signed by Active Duty, Reserve, or National Guard military personnel.
It is authorized by DoD Directive 1325.6 and DoD Directive 7050.6.
The wording of the Appeal for Redress is:
As an American currently serving my nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to fully support our mission in Iraq and halt any calls for retreat. I also respectfully urge my political leaders to actively oppose media efforts which embolden my enemy while demoralizing American support at home. The War in Iraq is a necessary and just effort to bring freedom to the Middle East and protect America from further attack.
If you are active duty, reservist or national guard, please Sign this Appeal.
Most service members fully support the war in Iraq and feel calls to retreat by Congress and attacks by our media on our conduct and mission act to motivate our enemy while demoralizing our support at home, directly increasing the threat we face and resulting in greater American casualties. This Appeal for Redress provides a way in which individual service members can appeal to Congress to fully support us and actively oppose media attacks on our mission and our morale.
This Appeal will be delivered to members of Congress.
http://www.appealforcourage.org/

[pepperp1]

Seems from reporting at the National Journal that those emails may be on there way they have an article entitled ...."Several of the e-mails that the Bush administration is withholding from Congress"... and supposedly it%u2019s coming from sources, 2, at the White House and we all know how they leak stories as cover. My guess is that the leak is timed and intended to help the AG move on voluntarily, maybe the cover up less than the crime this time.

[clestes-2009]

Gonzo is going to play dumb until someone unearths concrete evidence (those missing emails) about the truth of why these attornies were fired.

Even then he will play dumb, which is not too far from the truth.

[pepperp1]

...maybe Kyle Sampson former Chief of Staff to AG and Scooter Libby former Chief of Staff to VP can have side by side cells.... unlike Scooter, Kyle wasn't to busy to be truthful, he just did not intend to not be truthful to Congress...

[david1737]

lars,

You support torture. You are a monster.

[jairod]

Gonzales: Bought and paid for by the Bush foundation for scumbags.

[david1737]

Gonzo was never qualified for the position of A.G. in the first place. He should step down.