Ashcroft ordered security detail not to let Gonzales or Card in hospital room again

Evidence right here proves that Alberto Gonzales not only lied to Congress about the Ashcroft hospital visit, but that Gonzales and Andrew Card harassed Ashcroft to the point that he felt threatened and told his security detail to intervene.

Notes written by FBI Director Robert Mueller, recently turned over to Congressional investigators, indicate that then-Attorney General John Ashcroft was pressured from his hospital bed by Alberto Gonzales and Andrew Card to authorize the warrantless eavesdropping program.  That part we have known for quite sometime, even though last month Gonzales lied to Congress about it ever happening.

What is particularly interesting about these notes is they show that after the sneaky hospital visit took place, Attorney General Ashcroft ordered his security detail to not let anyone, except family, into his hospital room.

Here are FBI Director Robert Mueller's notes from that day:

Wednesday, 3/10/04:

@1920: Called by DAG while at restaurant with wife and daughter.  He is at AG's hospital with Goldsmith and Philbin.  Tells me Card and J. Gonzales are on the way to hospital to see AG, but that AG is in no condition to see them, much less make decision to authorize continuation of the program.  Asks me to come to AG's hospital to witness condition of AG.

@1940: At hospital.  Card and J. Gonzales have come and gone.  Comey tells me that they saw the AG and were told by the AG that he was in no condition to decide issues, and that Comey was the Acting AG.  All matters were to be taken to him, but that he supported the Acting AG's position.  The AG then reviewed for them the legal concerns relating to the program.  The AG also told them that he was barred from obtaining the advice he needed on the program by the strict compartmentalization rules of the WH.  Comey asked me to meet briefly with the AG to see his condition.  He also asked that I inform the detail that no visitors, other than family, were to be allowed to see the AG without my consent.  (I so informed the detail.)

Let me paint this picture as best I can.  There are three angles to this internal feud:

• President Bush, who was uninformed about the inner struggle within his own Administration to install the warrantless wiretap program.
• Attorney General John Ashcroft, Deputy Attorney General James Comey and FBI Director Robert Mueller -- all of whom were against the program.
• Vice President Dick Cheney, White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales and White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card -- all of whom supported warrantless wiretaps.

The program needed to be authorized by Attorney General Ashcroft, who was in intensive care following a gallstone emergency.  So Cheney sent Gonzales and Card to pressure a sick Ashcroft from his hospital bed to authorize the program.  When James Comey heard they were on their way to the hospital, he was furious:

"I was angry," Comey testified. "I thought I just witnessed an effortto take advantage of a very sick man, who did not have the powers ofthe attorney general because they had been transferred to me."

So as we learned from Robert Mueller's notes above, Comey quickly called the FBI Director and told him to get down to the hospital and intervene immediately.  It was too late.  Although Gonzales and Card did not convince Ashcroft, they certainly did harass him to the point that he eventually decided to give new orders to his security detail.

Of course, following true to form, Alberto Gonzales went under oath last month and denied that he and Card pressured Ashcroft on that specific program that day.  These notes prove otherwise.  That is perjury.

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Comments

[Justin]

This reads like a bad, (and I mean BAD) soap opera. I don't think Congress can continue to turn a blind eye much longer. Then again, I've been surprised before.

[Robert]

You know sometimes I feel sorry for Bush. He will be remembered as one of, if not the, worst Presidents and he has NO CLUE what is going on. He really has other people doing all the work. I can just see what his day is like. Sitting behind the desk watching old John Wayne movies, the Duke is the man, trying to figure out how he can be more like the Duke. While Rove, Cheney, Rice and the others pushed their personal ajenda on the American people. They have sacrifced people for their own greed and egos along with countless american and other nationalites lives. It all falls on him. He is not an evil mastermind. He is a simple man being used. He has been a Lame Duck President since he "won" the 2000 election. Any book you read or documenty you watch you see Bush has little to do with anything. Sorry about the rant but MAN control your own house SIR. I can't wait for him to be gone.

[chris]

don't mueller's notes suggest that Comey, not ashcroft, ordered that Gonzalez and card not be allowed to visit ashcroft again?

[Krashkopf]

Its hard to hear this story without thinking of the scene from Godfather I where the mobsters are coming to finish off Don Corleone in the hospital.

[Chief Editor: Todd]

Chris, good question. The documents show that Ashcroft told Comey to tell the security detail not to let anyone into his hospital except for family.

"He also asked that I inform the detail that no visitors, other than family, were to be allowed to see the AG without my consent."

[benjoya]

i agree with chris.

Comey asked me to meet briefly with the AG to see his condition. He [Comey] also asked that I inform the detail that no visitors, other than family, were to be allowed to see the AG without my consent. (I so informed the detail.)

ashcroft might have made this request to comey, but we don't know that.

[Chief Editor: Todd]

But this was Ashcroft's security detail. Only Ashcroft can make that request. Otherwise, Gonzales could just tell the security detail, "Don't allow Comey or Mueller in there again."

[Mike Brown]

No one should ever feel sorry for George Bush as a victim of his coharts' disastrous influence or of his own vacuous mind and over-simplified world view. Anyone aspiring to be the president of the U.S. who couldn't recognize his own lack of fitness for such a demanding job needs no symapthy. A person who lacked the gumption to face duty in Vietnam, failed in one business enterprise after another, drank and partied until 40 years of age, knew little about geography, public policy, or foreign affairs, had a distaste for reading, and had difficulty with his own language should have known that he had no business putting his own country at risk with such flimsy qualifications. And we shouldn't feel sorry for the 51,000,000 people who failed to consider those inadequacies in 2004. They should have been fully aware of them by then.

[The Oracle]

The order given to Ashcroft's security detail makes me think someone thought Card and Gonzales might try to sneak back into Ashcroft's hospital room in the middle of the night, awaken him, hold the warrantless wiretapping reauthorization form up in front of his groggy face, while saying, "Sir, we ran out of toilet paper at the Justice Department. Could you sign this urgent requisition form for toilet paper? It's an emergency." At which time, the drugged, gravely ill Ashcroft would have scrawled his signature...with no one being the wiser about how his signature got on the reauthorization document...not even Ashcroft.

Oh, and a little known detail about Card's and Gonzales' visit to Ashcroft's hospital bedside: when they entered they were carrying a "waterboard" between them, like a hospital litter, just in case Ashcroft needed a little "persuasion" to reauthorize the illegal warrantless wiretapping program. Of course, after being caught, they tried to claim that they were just helping hospital workers move around patients on the wooden slab. Hey, I just report, you decide (ala Faux News).

[Robert]

Great come back. And I deserve the lashing I was given Todd. I should have left that out of my comment. my main point was his ignorance and lack of caring. and with the great points you made shows the problem with our system that a man like bush can be elected. I beleive the country was stolen by this administration. Do you notice how we use the term administation a lot. maybe i was too young but i don't remember doing that with Clinton it was Clinton did this and that but now its seems different. alas I bow. and reflex on how i word my post.

[granny]

No tears for Bush. He knew EXACTLY what he was doing: acting as a figurehead for a cadre of ambitious like minded individuals whose whole agenda was the empowerment and enrichment of themselves and a privileged few; and the centralization of governmental power for the ensured future of a ???‚¬?“ruling class???‚¬?? society.

He was the ???‚¬?“perfect???‚¬?? candidate to carry out the plan. Back slapping, beer drinking, party boy; everybody???‚¬?„?s buddy, nobody???‚¬?„?s superior, just your good old boy, having a fun time knocking over a few countries: ???‚¬?“bring ???‚¬??em on???‚¬??, stickin???‚¬?„? up for dad. Representing the regular guy ???‚¬??? we can all get to the top of heap. We all deserve to go to Yale, y???‚¬?„?all, we all deserve to get a few drunk driving arrests quashed, don???‚¬?„?t we?! Sure, we do. We all know those rich guys aren???‚¬?„?t any better than you and me. See? I am one, and still I???‚¬?„?m your buddy.

I'm searching around in here, but I may have to come back as a dung beetle in the next life, because I'm not finding much in the way of a kind thought for this guy.

Not a tear.
Not a drop of liquid if he were on fire.

He is not being used. He is the user. The prime, unexamined, unabashed, user of every one, and every opportunity, and has been all his life. He is the epitome of the rich kid without a single thought ever crossing his mind that he is not ???‚¬?“entitled???‚¬?? to whatever he wants; without a single consideration of the consequences for anyone.

As to the ???‚¬?“story???‚¬?? comments ???‚¬??? regarding the gathering at Ashcroft???‚¬?„?s hospital bed:

Comey was acting AG. He had the authority to call all the shots, including requesting an order be given the detail to limit visitors. And, according to Mueller???‚¬?„?s notes, he (Mueller) was not called in to intervene, but to verify (???‚¬?“witness???‚¬??) Ashcroft???‚¬?„?s condition.

[Handy Fuse]

The plain meaning of the text is that it was Comey who asked Mueller to tighten the security, despite any hypotheticals to the contrary.

The security "detail" was FBI, which is why Comey made the request to Mueller--lines of authority, you know.

[cheryl]

Don't feel sorry for Bush. You reap what you sow-and tlike Shakespeare said "the tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive" hold so true with this buch. Bush, Cheney, Rove, Condi, Rummy, etc. all deserve to rot in hell for their crimes against humanity and nature. If I suddenly turned on the tv and found out that something tragic had happened to any of these crooks, I would shed no tears except those of joy!!!! I do not respect nor honor this president or his staff!!!!!

[Dallas112263]

Thank you for your acknowledgment of and invitation to Buzzers... BuzzFlash has been, remains and will be an independent site dedicated to the spread of the progressive network, supported entirely by the Buzzers it is the bulletin board of the progressive movement.

We all need to support each other, for whether the established paid press likes it or not the so-called 'blogosphere' is here to stay and will continue to evolve into what will eventually be the saving grace of the American Republic.

Dallas112263
AL Gore 2008

[Tim]

Hello! http://googi.com
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