Gonzales was visibly defensive as a frustrated group of
bipartisan senators pounded the attorney general with some tough
questions about his role in firings. Throughout the daylong hearing,
Gonzales testified more than 70 times that he could not recall any part
of the conversations or details of the backdoor meetings he had with
White House officials or members of his staff surrounding the
questionable dismissals of the US attorneys.
He added that he could not
recall whether he had certain conversations over the telephone or in
person.
Immediately following Gonzales's testimony, Sen.
Chuck Schumer D-New York) said that if Gonzales wanted to restore
integrity and credibility to the Department of Justice, he would "look
into his heart, he would march over to Pennsylvania Avenue and submit
his resignation."
The hearing began Thursday morning with
an impassioned opening statement by Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick
Leahy, who said the Department of Justice has been "experiencing a
crisis of leadership perhaps unrivaled during its 137-year history.
"There is the growing scandal swirling around the dismissal and
replacement of several prosecutors, and persistent efforts to undermine
and marginalize career lawyers in the Civil Rights Division and
elsewhere in the department," Leahy said. "Since Attorney General
Gonzales last appeared before this committee on January 18, we have
heard sworn testimony from the former US attorneys forced from office
and from his former chief of staff. Their testimony sharply contradicts
the accounts of the plan to replace US attorneys that the attorney
general provided to this committee under oath in January and to the
American people during his March 13 press conference."
In
his opening statement, Gonzales said he has "nothing to hide," but
senators from both parties said Gonzales's failure to provide answers
to their questions about why the attorneys were fired and how the plan
to oust them was conceived left them with no choice but to conclude
Gonzales was being less than truthful in his testimony, and to demand
that he immediately resign.
Gonzales said he did not see
how his resignation would solve the matter. He said he stood behind the
decision to fire the attorneys because some of them were not tough on
voter fraud or immigration issues and other performance-related issues.
However, Justice Department documents released over the past few months
show that the US attorneys in question had impeccable evaluations from
their superiors. Still, if he had to do it over, Gonzales said, he
would fire the attorneys again.
"At the end of the day, I know I did not do anything improper," Gonzales said.
But Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) told Gonzales he believed
that the attorney general and Justice Department staffers had
fabricated a story about the US attorneys' job performance in order to
justify the purge.
Graham added that it was clear to him
that some of the [US attorneys] had personality problems with people in
the White House, and there was no truth, in his opinion, that the
attorneys had performed poorly.
Thursday's testimony was
seen as crucial in order for Gonzales to keep his job. Immediately
after the committee adjourned, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said
President Bush still "has full confidence" in Gonzales's ability to
perform his job as attorney general.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York), however, said Gonzales "made the case that he shouldn't stay."
"He took 20 steps back," Schumer told reporters at the conclusion of
Gonzales's testimony. "Republicans agree. He was dodging and weaving.
Today's hearing set the White House cause back. It's hard to believe
after today's performance the White House would want him to stay on."
Schumer said Gonzales's testimony did not answer lingering questions
about why the US attorneys were fired, how they came to be included on
a list prior to their dismissal last year, and what role White House
political adviser Karl Rove and former White House counsel Harriet
Miers played in the ordeal. The White House, citing executive
privilege, has refused to allow Rove and Miers to testify under oath
and with a public record of their testimony.
"I think it's
really important to hear from Rove and Miers," Schumer said. "I think
what happened today strengthens the case for Rove and Miers to come
forward with transcripts.
Schumer said that, despite the
fact that the committee could not get answers to their questions from
Gonzales, they will continue to pursue the case.
"One
thing I can assure you of is this is not over," Schumer said. "Far from
it. There [are] so many loose ends in terms of their privilege
argument. The claims of privilege almost never work. If you look at the
times [the issue of executive privilege] has gone to court, it is
usually resolved in months, not years," meaning the senator will pursue
the issue, even if the committee fails to come to an agreement with the
White House on Rove's and Miers's testimony and it ends up in court.
Writings 
Embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testified Thursday before a Senate committee that he could not recall the details of any of the meetings he participated in over the course of two years, in which he and his staff discussed a plan to fire eight US attorneys. 
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ME GREATLY TO SEE THESE TERRIBLE PEOPLE HARRASING SUCH A DEDICATED PATRIOT FOR DOING HIS
BEST TO PROTECT ALL OF AMRERICA JUST BECAUSE HE IS OF THE POOR ABUSED HISPANIC RACE. AS
YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD REPEATEDLY BY OUR BLESSED LEADER, AND THE ONE WHOSE ORDERS HE IS FOLLOWING,
HIS FELLOW COMPATRIOTS ARE HARD WORKING GUEST WORKERS, DOING THE WORK THAT THOSE LAZY NO
GOOD AMERICANS REFUSE TO DO. JUST THINK OF THE GREAT WEALTH THOSE POOR HARD WORKING SOULS
ARE CREATING IN THIS DECADANTLY SLOTHFUL COUNTRY!
FIE ON THOSE MEAN SPIRITED BIGGOTED LAWMAKERS!
Warren Ogren
The Bard of the Boondocks
(Google)
10035 N Ogren Road
Hayward, WI 54843
715-634-5751