Less than 24 hours away from the Senate's 'no confidence' vote of Alberto Gonzales, Fox News alum Tony Snow Chris Wallace that the Administration will stick with their Attorney General no matter what:
"It is perfectly obvious that the president has the right to hire and fire people who serve at his pleasure," Snow said.
True. But Congress can also fire cabinet members through . As of now, Congress already has a case for charges. As the video below shows, obstruction of justice charges aren't out of the question either:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has scheduled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' . While there is some Republican support, a few hard-line conservatives are plotting to derail the vote.
In the meantime, White House spokesperson Tony Fratto suggested that Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who is leading the campaign for the vote, :
"If Sen. Schumer had a conscience he would endhis political vaudeville act and let the Senate get back to work onimportant legislation," said Fratto in a message to The Hill.
As of Saturday, we know that six republicans intend to support the Democrats in the 'no confidence' vote. Since Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) is still not back yet, that makes 56 votes. Four more are needed to thwart a Republican filibuster.
Republicans up for reelection in 2008 might want to think long and hard about their vote.
Following the U.S. Attorney firing scandal, in which nine conservative federal prosecutors were blind-sided by Alberto Gonzales, the Administration is having a finding attorneys willing to fill the vacancies:
The controversy appears to be discouraging applications for some of the 22 prosecutor posts that President Bush needs to fill.
Of the nation's 93 U.S. attorneys, 22 are serving withoutSenate confirmation as interim or acting prosecutors. They representdistricts in Alaska, Arizona, California, the District of Columbia,Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada,New Mexico, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, West Virginia and Washington.
"I personally was disappointed we didn't have more," said Michael J.Grindstaff, the chairman of the Florida Federal Judicial NominatingCommission. "I was wondering if there was a way to attract moreapplicants."
When considering that now serving in the Bush Administration were once students of Pat Robertson's Regent University, the White House should have an easy time knowing where to look. Remember, Gonzales' former aide Monica Goodling was a from that law school.
For me, the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last month produced my :
“Well, how can you be sure you made the decision?†Mr. Leahy asked.
“Senator, I recall making the decision from this — I recall making the decision,†Mr. Gonzales replied.
“When?†Mr. Leahy responded.
“Senator, I don’t recall when the decision was made.â€
Specter's grilling of Gonzales just moments later was easily my second favorite:
SEN. SPECTER: Weren't you involved inthe decision on the removal of Arkansas U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins, asKyle Sampson testified?
ATTY GEN. GONZALES: Senator, I have no recollection about that, but I presume that that is true.
SEN. SPECTER: Weren't you involved inthe decisions with respect to U.S. Attorney Iglesias in New Mexico, asyou've already testified in response to the chairman's questions?
ATTYGEN. GONZALES: Senator, I do recall having a conversation with Mr.Rove. I now understand that there was a conversation between myself andthe president, and at some point, Mr. Sampson brought me what Iunderstood to be the consensus recommendation of the senior leadershipthat we ought to make a change in that district.
Someone needs to make a "Gonzo's Greatest Hits" CD (available for itunes too, of course!).
With a number of reelection campaigns hanging in the balance, the 'no confidence' Senate vote that was rescheduled for today is expected to go rather smoothly. People like Senator (R-MN), who is facing a tough 2008 Senate battle with Democrat Al Franken, does not want the Gonzales scandal hanging around like a rain cloud over his campaign. Coleman is among at least that will definitely support the 'no confidence' vote. Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter is likely to join that group. In all, that gives the Democrats around 55 or 56 votes at the very least, depending on which lawmakers choose not to show up.
Still, 56 votes is not enough to break a filibuster, should the Republicans try that option. But from what I have been reading, there is no indication that the GOP will even bother preventing the resolution from coming to a vote -- which means that all the measure needs is a simple majority.
If Alberto Gonzales chooses not to resign despite the 'no confidence' vote, then columnist John Nichols recommends opening impeachment proceedings:
And while a proposed Senate vote of "no confidence" might finally tipthe balance against Gonzales, it is certainly appropriate to preparefor the next act of the sorry soap opera that the attorney general'stenure has become.
The founders established clear procedures for impeaching members ofthe Cabinet. "The President, Vice President and all civil officers ofthe United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, andconviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes andmisdemeanors," reads Article 2, Section 4, of the Constitution.
has recommended that the Congress do just that. With impeachment possibly on the horizon, Gonzales has every incentive to resign now.
When Alberto Gonzales gave aides Monica Goodling and Kyle Sampson to fire U.S. Attorneys, Goodling probably had no idea that this controversy would blow up like it did. As she quickly became a scapegoat in the firing scandal, her actions and educational background went under the microscope. On March 8th, knowing that her career was heading south, in a colleague's office:
"All I ever wanted to do was serve this president and thisadministration and this department," Goodling said March 8, accordingto Associate Deputy Attorney General David Margolis.
Margolis told House and Senate investigators of the conversation during a private meeting this month.
During the 30- to 45-minute encounter, Goodling proceeded "to bawl her eyes out" and repeat the phrase, Margolis said.
That isn't to say that Monica Goodling had no knowledge what she was getting into. She probably deserved what she got. But when Alberto Gonzales was asked by the Senate about the conversations he had with Goodling, he shouldered the blame on her, and went on to not recall the specifics (along with the other things Gonzales could not recall).
As the Senate prepares to pass a 'no confidence' vote, more conservatives are jumping ship. Last night on the , Education Secretary Margaret Spellings had some fun at Gonzales' expense. And the far-right publication Human Events wrote a column for Wednesday titled, "."
With the Senate's '' vote coming up on Wednesday, conservatives have just one day left to separate themselves from the Attorney General before all hell breaks loose. Over the last few news cycles, a number of conservative editorial boards across the country have jumped ship.
1) Conservative bloggers, like Ed Koch of , says Gonzales is a "dead man walking," and praised Ashcroft for standing standing up to him in the hospital:
Isn't it awesome that Ashcroft, a very conservative lawyer and formerU.S. Senator, hated by the liberals, in effect, thwarted an attempt bythe President's Counsel and Chief of Staff to subvert the law?
2) Even the , a right-leaning newspaper, wrote this morning that Gonzales ought to go:
He no longer deserves or can claim the confidence of the department heruns, of the Congress or of the American people. He should resign.
3) Another right-wing newspaper, the , asks Gonzales to "go quietly" and not hurt the Republicans any further:
It's admirable that Mr. Bush is willing to defend his longtime friendand counselor, but Mr. Gonzales should not put the president in theposition of having to do so. It is no service to Mr. Bush for Mr.Gonzales to stay on.
4) My hometown newspaper, the -- which all of us out here in the Northwest know is far from liberal -- jumped off the Gonzales bandwagon on Sunday:
The only alternative to Gonzales' staying on as attorney general is anindependent Justice Department that acts in the interests of justice,rather than Bush's political and personal interests. That is what Bushfears most, and that is why Gonzales will almost certainly stay, unlessCongress forces him out. Let's ask them to do it.
The way I see it, there are two main reasons why Gonzales is toast:
The controversial firings affected Republican-appointed attorneys. Many of these attorneys have close relationships with GOP Senators and Representatives.
The episode between Gonzales and Ashcroft gives conservatives a way out. In other words, Republicans can say, "Hey, all the fuss about the U.S. Attorney firings was nonsense. But I don't like what Gonzales did to our conservative pal Ashcroft."
is like the of the Blogosphere. Greenwald has from our government and major corporations for theAmerican people, he deserves an "atta-boy". If Alberto Gonzales wasn'tworried before, he should start getting worried. Greenwald and have done it again with a new video and in assisting "us" in getting rid of the lying sack of "unknowledge"
'The President won't fire him--but you can'
Bonus Vid:Jack Kingston owned by Greenwald. Kingston never seems like he knows what hes talking about
Gonzo's on him. Seems like the only ones he can count on are his family and Bush.
The Harvard Crimson reported that 56 of Gonzales's former law school class have sent a letter to The Washington Post, criticizing his behavior.
Fifty-six members of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ graduatingclass at Harvard Law School signed a quarter-page open letter inyesterday’s Washington Post excoriating their former classmate for his“cavalier handling of our freedoms.â€
“Your country and your President are in dire need of an attorney whowill do the tough job of providing independent counsel,†the lettersays. It calls on Gonzales to “relent from this reckless path, andbegin to restore respect for the rule of law we all learned to lovemany years ago.â€
The decision to write the letter was made a few days after the reunion.One of the signatories, Barbara C. Moses of New York, said that theattorney general’s appearance—which drew a small group of protesters,including one who donned an orange jumpsuit and black hood—motivatedsome of her classmates to go public with their criticism of Gonzales....
Schumer on Hardball talks about the Vote of no confidence for Gonzales (Thanks to for the vid)
Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty has announced his resignation in the wake of the U.S. Attorney firing scandal. In his one-page to Gonzales, McNulty cited family reasons:
"The financial realities of college-age children and two decades ofpublic service lead me to a long overdue transition in my career,"McNulty said in the letter, which did not mention the firingscontroversy.
Two Justice Department aides first informed the of McNulty's resignation, and claimed he had been wanting to leave for months.
McNulty was by President Bush for the Deputy Attorney General position back in the fall of 2005 after serving as, ironically, a U.S. Attorney in Virginia.
As you might recall, when Nevada U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden was fired in 2006, McNulty told the prosecutor in a that the Justice Department's reasons for letting Bogden go were not performance related. However, in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee in February, McNulty claimed the firings were performance related.
So obviously that guy had a credibility problem, to put it mildly.
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