Post by shroomman63 on Aug 27, 2007 6:42:14 GMT -6
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070827/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/gonzales
WASHINGTON - Bush administration officials say Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will announce his resignation today.
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The embattled attorney general has been under increasing pressure by lawmakers in both parties, amid accusations that the Justice Department has been used for political purposes.
www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=akGDrzVIv9KE&refer=home
Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, accused by lawmakers of politicizing the U.S. Justice Department and misleading Congress over the firing of U.S. prosecutors and wiretapping of suspected terrorists, is resigning, a Bush administration official said.
The official, who requested anonymity, confirmed a New York Times report that Gonzales is stepping down. The White House plans to announce his departure later today.
Gonzales, propelled to power by his close friendship with President George W. Bush, had for months withstood demands for his ouster from Democrats and Republicans. The administration's firing of nine federal prosecutors last year sparked the political furor over Gonzales's stewardship of the agency.
The resignation marks a climax in a political battle over Gonzales's leadership of the Justice Department, though congressional investigations into the prosecutor firings and the administration's anti-terrorist spying program continue. Bush may also clash with Congress over Gonzales's successor, who must be confirmed by the Democratic-led Senate.
The Justice Department probes led to a constitutional showdown over executive privilege after Bush ordered White House aides to defy congressional subpoenas to testify or provide documents.
Gonzales, 52, became the nation's first Hispanic attorney general in February 2005 and was once seen as a possible Supreme Court nominee. He previously served as Bush's White House counsel where he was one of the chief legal architects of the U.S.'s war on terrorism.
Lacking Independence
Critics said Gonzales's Justice Department wasn't independent enough from Bush, the attorney general's longtime friend and political benefactor who brought him to Washington.
``The job of the attorney general is to enforce the law, not to be the lawyer for the president of the United States,'' said George Washington University law professor Stephen Saltzburg, who served in the Justice Department under former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
The department came under scrutiny in January after the U.S. attorney dismissals. Democrats said the purge may have been conducted to influence political corruption cases.
Gonzales maintained he knew little about how the prosecutors were chosen for dismissal, though he approved the final list. In a March 8 letter to the editor of USA Today, he characterized the firing controversy as ``an overblown personnel matter.'' He and the White House insisted the prosecutors -- all Bush appointees - - weren't asked to resign for political reasons.
Rove's Role
Though the Justice Department at first said Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, wasn't involved in the firings, e- mails showed he discussed the dismissals with the White House counsel's office as early as Jan. 6, 2005. Bush invoked executive privilege to keep Rove and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers from testifying about their roles in the ouster.
At the heart of Gonzales's troubles were allegations he committed perjury on several occasions. Gonzales maintains he told the truth to Congress, though he acknowledged his testimony on the eavesdropping program was confusing.
Gonzales, in 2006 Senate testimony, said there wasn't ``any serious disagreement'' in the administration over U.S. eavesdropping on communications of suspected terrorists.
He was contradicted by former Deputy Attorney General James Comey and FBI Director Robert Mueller who testified that there was vigorous dissent. Gonzales told lawmakers the debate involved other intelligence activities, not the domestic spying program.
Prosecutor Firings
On the prosecutor firings, Democrats said Gonzales may have lied when he testified he didn't talk to other Justice Department officials about the ousters. Former Justice Department counsel Monica Goodling testified he raised the matter with her, and she suggested he may have tried to influence her recollection of events.
Gonzales told the judiciary panel in July he was ``trying to console and reassure an emotionally distraught woman.''
Democrats began hearings on the firings in January after taking control of the House and Senate for the first time in 12 years. Some Senate Democrats called for a special prosecutor to examine Gonzales's truthfulness, while 15 House Democrats sought an impeachment inquiry.
Gonzales won little support from his own party. The senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, in August called him ``a wily witness'' and said Congress should ``find a way to end the tenure of Attorney General Gonzales.''
Gonzales was the 80th U.S. attorney general. Along with fighting terrorism, he sought to break up gangs, combat child pornography, crack down on illegal drugs and prosecute intellectual-property crimes.
Corruption Cases
During his tenure, the department won convictions in public corruption cases against Republican Representatives Bob Ney of Ohio and Randall ``Duke'' Cunningham of California. A third congressman, Louisiana Democrat William Jefferson, was indicted and is awaiting trial.
Gonzales liked to refer to his blue-collar roots in speeches and told audiences about his boyhood as one of eight children in his family in Humble, Texas. His parents met as migrant workers, picking crops. After attending public schools, Gonzales graduated from Rice University in Houston and Harvard Law School.
He became friends with Bush in the mid-1990s when the president was governor of Texas and hired Gonzales as general counsel and secretary of state, and later named him to the state Supreme Court. Gonzales still prefers to be called ``judge.''
In the White House, Gonzales provided legal advice on administration plans for fighting terrorism. He signed off on a 2002 legal opinion that let interrogators inflict physical pain and mental coercion. Democrats said the policy sanctioned torture, and it was withdrawn.
Geneva Conventions
Gonzales also helped author a 2002 memorandum that called some Geneva Convention protections for prisoners of war ``obsolete.'' The Supreme Court ruled last year that the conventions apply to the U.S. war against al-Qaeda.
Gonzales was known for walking around the Justice Department's Washington headquarters, dropping in on career employees to chat while his security team waited in the hall.
His chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, who coordinated the firings and resigned in March, was among several Justice Department aides who came from the White House.
On Nov. 15, 2006, Sampson sent former White House Counsel Miers a plan for the firings and said the Justice Department would ``stand by for a green light from you'' to carry them out.
The plan warned: ``Prepare to withstand political upheaval.''
WASHINGTON - Bush administration officials say Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will announce his resignation today.
ADVERTISEMENT
The embattled attorney general has been under increasing pressure by lawmakers in both parties, amid accusations that the Justice Department has been used for political purposes.
www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=akGDrzVIv9KE&refer=home
Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, accused by lawmakers of politicizing the U.S. Justice Department and misleading Congress over the firing of U.S. prosecutors and wiretapping of suspected terrorists, is resigning, a Bush administration official said.
The official, who requested anonymity, confirmed a New York Times report that Gonzales is stepping down. The White House plans to announce his departure later today.
Gonzales, propelled to power by his close friendship with President George W. Bush, had for months withstood demands for his ouster from Democrats and Republicans. The administration's firing of nine federal prosecutors last year sparked the political furor over Gonzales's stewardship of the agency.
The resignation marks a climax in a political battle over Gonzales's leadership of the Justice Department, though congressional investigations into the prosecutor firings and the administration's anti-terrorist spying program continue. Bush may also clash with Congress over Gonzales's successor, who must be confirmed by the Democratic-led Senate.
The Justice Department probes led to a constitutional showdown over executive privilege after Bush ordered White House aides to defy congressional subpoenas to testify or provide documents.
Gonzales, 52, became the nation's first Hispanic attorney general in February 2005 and was once seen as a possible Supreme Court nominee. He previously served as Bush's White House counsel where he was one of the chief legal architects of the U.S.'s war on terrorism.
Lacking Independence
Critics said Gonzales's Justice Department wasn't independent enough from Bush, the attorney general's longtime friend and political benefactor who brought him to Washington.
``The job of the attorney general is to enforce the law, not to be the lawyer for the president of the United States,'' said George Washington University law professor Stephen Saltzburg, who served in the Justice Department under former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
The department came under scrutiny in January after the U.S. attorney dismissals. Democrats said the purge may have been conducted to influence political corruption cases.
Gonzales maintained he knew little about how the prosecutors were chosen for dismissal, though he approved the final list. In a March 8 letter to the editor of USA Today, he characterized the firing controversy as ``an overblown personnel matter.'' He and the White House insisted the prosecutors -- all Bush appointees - - weren't asked to resign for political reasons.
Rove's Role
Though the Justice Department at first said Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, wasn't involved in the firings, e- mails showed he discussed the dismissals with the White House counsel's office as early as Jan. 6, 2005. Bush invoked executive privilege to keep Rove and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers from testifying about their roles in the ouster.
At the heart of Gonzales's troubles were allegations he committed perjury on several occasions. Gonzales maintains he told the truth to Congress, though he acknowledged his testimony on the eavesdropping program was confusing.
Gonzales, in 2006 Senate testimony, said there wasn't ``any serious disagreement'' in the administration over U.S. eavesdropping on communications of suspected terrorists.
He was contradicted by former Deputy Attorney General James Comey and FBI Director Robert Mueller who testified that there was vigorous dissent. Gonzales told lawmakers the debate involved other intelligence activities, not the domestic spying program.
Prosecutor Firings
On the prosecutor firings, Democrats said Gonzales may have lied when he testified he didn't talk to other Justice Department officials about the ousters. Former Justice Department counsel Monica Goodling testified he raised the matter with her, and she suggested he may have tried to influence her recollection of events.
Gonzales told the judiciary panel in July he was ``trying to console and reassure an emotionally distraught woman.''
Democrats began hearings on the firings in January after taking control of the House and Senate for the first time in 12 years. Some Senate Democrats called for a special prosecutor to examine Gonzales's truthfulness, while 15 House Democrats sought an impeachment inquiry.
Gonzales won little support from his own party. The senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, in August called him ``a wily witness'' and said Congress should ``find a way to end the tenure of Attorney General Gonzales.''
Gonzales was the 80th U.S. attorney general. Along with fighting terrorism, he sought to break up gangs, combat child pornography, crack down on illegal drugs and prosecute intellectual-property crimes.
Corruption Cases
During his tenure, the department won convictions in public corruption cases against Republican Representatives Bob Ney of Ohio and Randall ``Duke'' Cunningham of California. A third congressman, Louisiana Democrat William Jefferson, was indicted and is awaiting trial.
Gonzales liked to refer to his blue-collar roots in speeches and told audiences about his boyhood as one of eight children in his family in Humble, Texas. His parents met as migrant workers, picking crops. After attending public schools, Gonzales graduated from Rice University in Houston and Harvard Law School.
He became friends with Bush in the mid-1990s when the president was governor of Texas and hired Gonzales as general counsel and secretary of state, and later named him to the state Supreme Court. Gonzales still prefers to be called ``judge.''
In the White House, Gonzales provided legal advice on administration plans for fighting terrorism. He signed off on a 2002 legal opinion that let interrogators inflict physical pain and mental coercion. Democrats said the policy sanctioned torture, and it was withdrawn.
Geneva Conventions
Gonzales also helped author a 2002 memorandum that called some Geneva Convention protections for prisoners of war ``obsolete.'' The Supreme Court ruled last year that the conventions apply to the U.S. war against al-Qaeda.
Gonzales was known for walking around the Justice Department's Washington headquarters, dropping in on career employees to chat while his security team waited in the hall.
His chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, who coordinated the firings and resigned in March, was among several Justice Department aides who came from the White House.
On Nov. 15, 2006, Sampson sent former White House Counsel Miers a plan for the firings and said the Justice Department would ``stand by for a green light from you'' to carry them out.
The plan warned: ``Prepare to withstand political upheaval.''
