Specter Expects Gonzales To Resign

Republican Thinks AG Will Not Wait For Results Of No Confidence Vote

(CBS)  A resolution calling for a vote of no confidence in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is being introduced in the Senate this week, but the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee says he thinks Gonzales will resign before then.

"I have a sense ... that before the vote is taken, that Attorney General Gonzales may step down," Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Penn., said on Face The Nation. "Votes of no confidence are very rare... And I think historically, that is something which Attorney General Gonzales would like to avoid."

Specter would not say which way he will vote on the no confidence resolution, but he did say that there is no doubt that the Justice Department would be better off if Gonzales left.

"I think the actual termination is a personal one for the attorney general, and also for the president," Specter said. "I'm not going to tell the president what to do... We have separation of powers."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who is introducing the no confidence vote, told Bob Schieffer that she wasn't sure if enough Republicans would join her for it to pass, but she said Gonzales had little support on either side of the aisle.

"I see no strong support for the attorney general within the Republicans," she said. "I think on our side of the aisle, the Democratic side, there are very strong feelings that go way back to many of the opinions, his concept of attorney general, which is that he wears two hats – one to serve the president, the other to serve the people."

Specter said he believed a "sizable number" of Republican lawmakers would join Democrats in the vote.

Both Specter and Feinstein said what is important is that the Justice Department continue to do its duty.

"I'm very worried about the department. I think its credibility is crumbling. I think what's happened to one of it most powerful arms, which is the federal prosecutorial arm, has damaged it seriously," Feinstein said. "And I think the only thing that can really change that is a new attorney general."

"The Department of Justice is second only to the Department of Defense in providing for security – they do the work on anti-terrorism investigations, they have the work on drug enforcement, violent crime enforcement," Specter said. "And the morale in the department is very low."

[toldyouso21]

If the no confidence vote has no effect on Bush and the USAG, then Congress should cut off all new appropriations, hamstring the old and allow no new measures that are in anyway connected to Gonzales to come to the floor. If Bush refuses to respect or recognize the power of the Congress, then as Biden said--"it should be rammed down his (and Gonzales's) throat. Time to take back the White House and the government. Since Congress can only control the purse strings--then it is time they act like it and begin controlling them. Let's see how much power Bush and the WH have in that department when no one is getting paid anymore.

[aaabee-2009]

What is the difference, Mudrose?

What great example of moral uprightness has your bunch given us? What great open-heartedness has Limbaugh given us? What great compromise has Bush given us?

What is that? You said nothing?

You flap your gums about liberals, when you aren't anything but a hypocrite. Just like Newt Gingrich, you stand in judgement of others while hiding your own disgusting habits.

I love how you condemn those who don't think the way you want them to think.

But what you don't care to notice is these same folks have deep good in their hearts and love their country and want a better future for their children. I know liberals who put an empty wallet in their pockets and go home to empty refrigerators because they work minimum wage jobs that can't even buy Bush's gas anymore. And I know liberals that send their last few dollars to charity.

So you go ahead and bust on half the population of your own country. I am going over and stand with the real heros, my fellow Dems.

There is a difference, Mudrose.

[mudrose-2009]

Hey Mudrose, haven't you heard? This is the BUSH administration; WE DON'T NEED PROOF ANYMORE! :-)
Posted by BobEBenson

So true, the Dumnos don't need proof. They can make up any story they want and get people like you to believe it. How stupid can the lefties be? Very, indeed. They lie so well they can't tell the differenc.e

[aaabee-2009]

It seems Republicans these days place far more worth on the quality of their excuses than on the quality of their character.

Gonzo is just the last in a long line of not-quite-ethical examples set by the moral conservative side of the house, with no rebuttal by any of our religious leaders on what their public representatives are representing to the public these days.

[bobebenson]

"Especially since this is all smoke and mirrors on Slimballs part "


Hey Mudrose, haven't you heard? This is the BUSH administration; WE DON'T NEED PROOF ANYMORE! :-)

[david1737]

mudrose

You live in Neo-con land. It's a land where the Iraqi's greet us with flowers, and Rummi finds the mythological WMD. In Neo-con land corruption is rewarded and Alberto Gonzalas isn't an evil scumbag. Enjoy your little fantasy land while it lasts. lol

[mudrose-2009]

It's killing slimball Schumer that he can't get to Carl Rove via Gonzo. It's just killing him. Especially since this is all smoke and mirrors on Slimballs part to accuse the Administration of being unethical, knowing full well the Clinton Administration could do circles around Bush for all their lying and theivery and unethical behaviors. Well, slimball Schumer will have to take another route. The AG did nothing wrong. He knows it and so do the American people. It's getting rather boring that the only thing these people can come up with is nothing but mock trials and defeatist attitudes. What a bunch of losers. No small wonder their ratings are below Bush's.

[toldyouso21]

It may be...that Gonzales could care less about the "blackmarks" that may be left in history. Face it, when someone does not mind advocating torture, illegal wiretaps or corrupting the DOJ--they really do not care about how they look to others or even how history will judge them.

Those who care about history can be separated into several camps:

1. Those who care about popularity

2. Those who do not know History changes and is reinterpreted/rewritten to suit those in power

3. Historians and pundits

Gonzales believes he has a higher calling. Like Condi, Gonzales believes he is 'wedded' to Bush and therefore, sustaining the wishes of his husband is paramount. You know what they say--love is blind. He will repeat: He serves (in all capacities) at the pleasure of the President. And as long as Bush takes pleasure in his service--he really does not care what any of us think or how Congress votes--Specter may want to get a clue--and maybe...it is time for him to stop sitting on the fence and vote for the man to leave also. To say he needs to--then vote the opposite or abstain is political cowardice.

[toldyouso21]

So who did not see this coming? Every single person who confirmed Gonzales should be voted out of office. I mean the man condoned Torture and subversion of the Constitution, for Pete's sake. Before the smoke clears, I am sure this DOJ scandal will be the least of the horrors that Bush and his love boy have cooked up.

[retiredinmex]

Whata bufoon this Attorney General is....a typical Bush appointee. What goes around....

[clestes-2009]

Bravo SearingTruth! Never have I heard the truth so well put.

[ezillyamused]

SearingTruth:
That has got to be one of the best posts I have ever seen here! You hit the nail right on the head! Keep up the good work!!!

[nolalou]

BIGDADPATRIO,

You don't have to do anything illegal to lose your job. If you are incompetent or unethical, you have to go. Period! He needs to go, either resign or be fired. That doesn%u2019t mean he will be prosecuted, but what he did is highly unethical at worst, or he was so out-of-the loop as to be incompetent! He seems to forget his job is not to be President Bush's personal attorney, he is supposed to be the peoples attorney!

[neoconrcrazy]

that he was somewhat unethical in his reasoning.
Posted by BIGDADPATRIO



that sounds somewhat stupid or disingenuous....
probably a mix of the two.

[aaabee-2009]

that he was somewhat unethical in his reasoning.
Posted by BIGDADPATRIO at 01:02 AM : May 21, 2007

That is the conservative reasoning for you, ignore every shred of evidence that says the HEAD OF THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT is a Bush thug and does the Bush bidding regardless of actual justice, then say he was SOMEWHAT unethical.

Is that like SOMEWHAT pregnant?

[mcvet]

When Gonzo and the Fuhrer, with the help of his Brain, turned the Justice Department into nothing but a political Arm of the Republican Party he violated one of this nations longest held beliefs and a FEDERAL Law. Saying that he deligated that to someone beneth him and saying he knew nothing of it, just isn't going to cut it. When our Justice Department starts hiring attorneys from a FOURTH RATED Law School for no other reason than Politics, we all suffer. When that same Department head sits by as people are hired BECAUSE of their Political and Religious Beliefs, then FEDERAL Laws and the Constitution have been broken. He not only needs to resign, he needs some serious time behind bars.

[adian1-2009]

Specter is nothing but a chicken. He does not have what it takes to dare saying if Gonzales should resign or not. In fact, if we look at what Specter said yesterday, we can see that he is paving the way to cast a NO VOTE in the No Confidence Resolution. CHICKEN!!!

[neoconrcrazy]

Gonzo's getting closer to his end and without doubt, he is going down as traitor to his nation's Constitution -

His statements to the Senate sealed his doom, especially when he said:

"the Constitution guarantee the right of habeas corpus - but does not state that it is guaranteed to everyone"

Can't get closer to facist thinking than that !

Good riddens wimpy!

[searingtruth]

"Again, I wish just ONE of you would give one piece of EVIDENCE that Gonzales has done anything ILLEGAL..."
BIGDADPATRIO


Hey, we're limited to only 1500 characters a post!

But I'll do my best to summarize. And for all the neo-cons out there, I must warn you that I'm going to be using concepts from the "C" and "F" words, so hold on to your chairs.

Just to get you ready, let's say them together.

Constitution.

Freedom.

Aaaahhhh ... now you see, that wasn't so bad, was it? (except for those convulsing on the floor).

Alright. I think you're as ready as ever you'll ever be.

Here is a summary of the crimes of Gonzales (and Bush, and Cheney, and, oh you get the picture):

The illegal abduction of both domestic and foreign citizens. The indefinite imprisonment of fore said citizens in secret prisons without charge or representation, and the frequent torture, and sometimes murder, of the same.

The illegal surveillance, intimidation, and imprisonment of domestic citizens.

The illegal surveillance, intimidation, and firing of government justice officials.

Preemptively attacking a sovereign country under false pretenses, and the sustained, concentrated, and illegal use of federal resources to cover up and condone this and all related crimes.

And whew, that's just the short, short list.

Yikes!!!
ST


"Truth is self evident. Evil demands lengthy explanation."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com

[seven-pesos]

never met a southerner i ever liked.

fat azzed, smelly, ignorant, war making, bible thumping, flag waving pieces of dumb dixie *****.

they go around waving that confederate flag like some kind of venereable object.

actually, that rebel rag represents how the south has lost every war they ever started.

jefferson lost his war.
johnson lost his war.
bush will lose his war.

the south has lost every war they ever started.

bible thumping, flag waving, evil christian snakes, republican freaks...

nothing good comes out of the south!