Gonzales Pushed Ailing Ashcroft On Spying
Ex-Official Says Gonzales Pressured Ashcroft In Hospital To Reauthorize Wiretapping
-
Photo
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, left, and his predecessor, John Ashcroft. (AP)
-
Interactive
Domestic Surveillance
The debate over the Bush administration's controversial wiretapping program.
-
Interactive
The Bush Cabinet
A look at departures, new nominees and long-standing members of the president's staff.
Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he refused to recertify the program because Attorney General John Ashcroft had reservations about its legality just before falling ill with pancreatitis in March 2004.
The White House, Comey said, recertified the program without the Justice Department's signoff, allowing it to operate for about three weeks without concurrence on whether it was legal. Comey, Ashcroft, FBI Director Robert Mueller and other Justice Department officials at one point considered resigning, Comey said.
"I couldn't stay, if the administration was going to engage in conduct that the Department of Justice had said had no legal basis," Comey told the panel.
A day after the March 10, 2004, incident at Ashcroft's hospital bedside, President Bush ordered changes to the program to accommodate the department's concerns. Ashcroft signed the presidential order to recertify the program about three weeks later.
The dramatic hospital confrontation involved Comey, the acting attorney general during Ashcroft's absence, and a White House team that included Bush's then-counsel, Alberto Gonzales, and White House Chief of Staff Andy Card, Comey said. Gonzales later succeeded Ashcroft as attorney general.
Comey said after one of Ashcroft's top aides told him about the pending visit, he rushed to the hospital with emergency lights flashing and a siren blaring, to intercept Gonzales and Card, the New York Times reported.
Comey said he called Mueller, who agreed to meet him at the hospital. Comey said he "literally ran up the stairs" once he arrived. Mueller then ordered FBI agents guarding Ashcroft not to make Comey leave the room if Gonzales and Card asked for his removal, the Times reported.
Senior government officials had expressed concerns about whether the National Security Agency, which administered the warrantless eavesdropping program, had the proper oversight in place. Other concerns included whether any president possessed the legal and constitutional authority to authorize the program as it operated at the time.
Comey testified Tuesday that when he refused to certify the program, Gonzales and Card headed to Ashcroft's sick bed in the intensive care unit at George Washington University Hospital.
When Gonzales appealed to Ashcroft, the ailing attorney general lifted his head off the pillow and in straightforward terms described his views of the program, Comey said. Then he pointed out that Comey, not Ashcroft, held the powers of the attorney general at that moment.
Gonzales and Card then left the hospital room, Comey said.
"I was angry," Comey told the panel. "I thought I had just witnessed an effort to take advantage of a very sick man who did not have the powers of the attorney general."
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.



- 1
- 2
- 3
- next
See all 106 CommentsNotice with the BUSH Administration, ethical behavior is never in the way.
E-T-H-I-C-S - "moral philosophy", from the adjective of "custom, habit", a major branch of philosophy, is the study of values and customs of a person or group. It covers the analysis and employment of concepts such as right and wrong, good and evil, and responsibility.
BUSH political use of RELIGON %u2013 lazy myopic substitution for ETHICS
Posted by omega39
LOL!!
I guess when you compare a totally rotten apple to an apple with a worm, the apple with the worm looks pretty good!!
The Bush cabal operates exactly like the mob--a tight secretive and top-down control from an ever smaller circle of confidants (only those who are with Bush, never those against Bush), abuse of power, rigid demands of loyalty above integrity, harsh retaliation against dissent, the penchant for nicknames are all reminiscent of the way crime cartels operate. And emanating from the White House is the darkest cloud we have ever seen in our government, trying to dupe the American public and destroy everything wholesome and good about this country in order to amass unprecedented levels of power for those in the Bush cabal. When can we the people see justice done ,and these Bush despots brought low? It is desperately needed at this time, much more so than when Nixon resigned in disgrace.
If it weren't for the witness (Comey), they would have waterboarded him ...
Gingrich told a wife that he was divorcing her when she was in the hospital fighting cancer.
Such nice guys!!!!
Posted by omega39
LOL!!
I guess when you compare a totally rotten apple to an apple with a worm, the apple with the worm looks pretty good!!
Posted by im4honesty at 09:39 AM : May 16, 2007
2xLOL!!!!
Will the madness ever end?
Let them run from each other... they just better hope we the people don't catch them first! Don't try to hide behind the rule of law now, you crooks. You threw it under the bus, and now there's nowhere left to hide.
It is my sincere hope that our Constitution, our nation, and our government can recover from the blight of this administration's tenure.
This country will not fall by the might of a sword but by someone carring the constitution in one hand and the bible in the other.
Sounds pretty close to what we have doesn't it.
The answer is none.
Let them run from each other... into each other, scrambling like roaches when the truth is heard. They just better hope we the people don't catch them first! Don't try to hide behind the rule of law now, you crooks. You threw it under the bus, and now there's nowhere left to hide.
It is my sincere hope that our Constitution, our nation, and our government can recover from the blight of this administration's tenure.
Do something evil, get caught, say "We could have handled that better.", repeat...endlessly, until the people get so accustomed to them doing evil they just let it slide out of weariness.
I think if the rules hadn't changed since Aaron Burr's day they'd be going down left and right in duels...
Really, this has gone to far already.
Gonzo needs to step down.
What needs to happen for him to be fired?
tony has apparently never heard of pharmaceuticals ... those things they dispense during and following major surgery.
he knows better ... which makes him all that much more of a hired liar.
http://www.airamerica.com/listen/
top notch progressive talk ! you can stream his daily show for free noon-3pm EST %u2026
excellent no nonsense talk radio, very nourishing ..
Nice try, Tony. The man lies in bed, literally on his death-bed, and you defend the weasels Gonzales and Card heading off to brow-beat a sick man into signing and unconstitutional program? President Bush possesses zero scruples, as evidenced by what "his favorite turdblossom" Rove has done over the years. This serves as simply more proof of how absolutely callous and cold this administration can be. The ends justify the means, and politics trumps all other concerns. The Bush Administration: never let an opportunity pass to trash the constitution, pose for a politically opportune photo-op, or pressure a deathly ill man. Quite a sight to behold, my fellow patriots.
In Gonzalez they have a law breaker for our top law enforcer.
In Wolfowitz, a corrupt politician in charge of an organization trying to stamp out corruption in the world.
In Mark Foley, a pedophile in charge of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children.
In George Bush, an AWOL coward who hid out in Alabama during the Vietnam war a "WAR PRESIDENT.".
In ******** Cheney (aka Deferment Cheney) a draft dodger, the war's greatest cheerleader.
This is the biggest array of scumbags in one place since Nazi Germany.
http://www.airamerica.com/listen/
top notch progressive talk ! you can stream his daily show for free noon-3pm EST %u2026
excellent no nonsense talk radio, very nourishing ..
http://www.airamerica.com/listen/
top notch progressive talk ! you can stream his daily show for free noon-3pm EST %u2026
excellent no nonsense talk radio, very nourishing ..
http://www.airamerica.com/listen/
top notch progressive talk ! you can stream his daily show for free noon-3pm EST %u2026
excellent no nonsense talk radio, very nourishing ..
Where the F(*&k is my representation!!!!!
Apparently, even John Ashcroft and Bob Mueller understood more about the law than Gonzales-- a horrific indictment of the incompetence of some Bush political appointees. Heckuva job, Gonzales!
Ashcroft and Mueller fundamentally questioned the Gonzales brief on NSA spying, but Gonzales' answer was not to defend his point of view, but to attack his critics. Now, this scandal about a political vendetta on US attorneys becomes clearer-- the idea arose with Gonzales, himself. The MO fits, exactly.
This episode reveales Gonzales as an unprincipled, deceitful flak whose incompetent understanding of law and government puts all of us at risk.
And that's why Card and Gonzo chose this particular moment to try and influence his decisions? Because he was incapable of rational thought...Good one guys!
Threats, bullying, coersion
While the patient is drugged and in pain...
NeoCons are traitors.
Was that the biggest lie ever?
Why do people vote for these losers ?
They truly bring out the worst in America, a country that once held the world in awe of it's greatness, now a place of fanatics, religious zealots, gun whackos and hatred , fear etc.
Republicans have ruined America with their intolerance and greed. A great shame of epic proportions.
Can America put itself back together ?
We need an FDR or Churchill, not more of this right wing madness.
Just like Tony Snow tried.... "just because he had an appendectomy means his brain wasn't working?" or something to that effect... give me a break.. he was in a hospital bed.. SICK.. and probably drugged up for the pain! You're going to sign something this important while incapacitated?? GIVE ME A BREAK! TONY SNOW, YOU NEED TO RESIGN NOW for being an idiot!
As to Gonzales - what more PROOF do you need now to see he's a slimeball? He obviously wasn't doing this on his own... the President HAS to be behind this.
RESIGN NOW!! OR BE FORCED OUT!
It must suck being Republicons these days.
[Posted by yamuttya at 01:27 PM : May 16, 2007]
and they're both 'authoritarian' personalities ... this explains their actions and their perspective.
for a complete analysis (of the manipulators and the manipulated) see john dean's new book 'conservatives without conscience' ... great stuff.
Chuck Hagel is right- Gonazlez has no credibility and is a hinderance to the nation - if he had an ounce of decency he'd resign for the good of the AG office, the government and the nation. But then again, he's an inside-Bush guy - they have no decency, morals, ethics or values - that's what makes them George's Inner Circle.
Posted by badaxmofo
Echelon is the name for a global surveillance network consisting of ground stations, satellites, and other listening posts, which collectively intercept and analyze worldwide electronic communications. The signals intelligence agencies of five nations%u2014the National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) of the United Kingdom, the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) of Canada, the Defense Signals Directorate (DSD) of Australia, and the Government Communications and Security Bureau (GCSB) of New Zealand%u2014all participate, with NSA as the controlling agency.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- next
See all 106 Comments