For Me? You Shouldn't Have

Whaddaya know, I got a Pony for my birthday!

CNN: Texas grand jury indicts Cheney, Gonzales

Yeah, like most of the political crap that's come from Texas over the last decade, it's probably just a dog and pony show. But I can dream, can't I?

Gonzales Pulls A Berger

I await with anticipation the right-wingers indignant outrage and calls for Alberto Gonzales to be tried for treason and dumped in Gitmo for illegally (allegedly) taking classified counterterror documents home.

I'll be waiting a long while, won't I.

Ethics? Are You Kidding?

So what's more troubling? Hearing that Alberto Gonzales, a former judge for Pete's sake, was up to his neck in the leak investigation of subordinates who would likely be testifying against him in other investigations -- a clear conflict of interest if ever there was one?

As a result of the briefings that Gonzales received during the leak probe, he now has an advantage that no private citizen under investigation could conceivably have: access to government records about his accusers even while investigations of him are ongoing.

OR, learning that one of the few people in the Justice Department that went toe-to-toe with Gonzales when he was White House Counsel over the legality of the illegal domestic spying program that was leaked to the press was issued a Grand Jury subpoena by then Attorney General Gonzales' Justice Department.

Jack Goldsmith, who, as head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, questioned the legality of some aspects of the warrantless surveillance program, and directly clashed with Gonzales over the program when Gonzales was White House counsel.

***

What angered me most about the subpoena I received," Goldsmith wrote, was "the fact that it was Alberto Gonzales's Justice Department that had issued it... I had spent hundreds of very difficult hours at OLC, in he face of extraordinary White House resistance, trying to clean up the legal mess that then-White House counsel Gonzales, David Addington [Vice President Cheney's then-counsel], and others had created in designing the foundations of the Terrorist Surveillance Program.

Oh Hell. It's all such a sorted mess. You might have heard about another DoJ investigation that was shut down when the White House refused to provide security clearances for the Office of Professional Responsibility -- the folks in charge of that "quaint" little idea called ethics.

It goes on. The scene at Ashcroft's hospital room was just the most dramatic.

Look, Fredo lied, flat out perjured himself before Congress when he said there was no "serious disagreement about the program." The proof that there was considerable dissent lies the memories people Gonzo was intimidating/investigating, and who his boss would not allow any other other investigators to interview. Justice is dead as long as the Executive Branch is run like a Mafia fiefdom.

How would you feel? What would you do? You object to the President doing an illegal thing. The illegal thing gets leaked to the press. You're put under investigation as a leak suspect and the guy you fought with over the illegal program in the first place runs the investigation against you and has the full power of the Department of Justice at his beck and call. AND when someday, somehow the investigation turns on the little twerp pulling the strings, he can tell his attorney everything he knows -- all the stuff he kept from all the other investigators.

Gonzo's attorney, also an insider who knows where some skeleton's are buried, doesn't have an ethical problem hearing what his client knows -- all of which gives him an unheard of advantage in any future legal squabbles. The one who has the ethical dilemma is JUDGE Gonzales, who shouldn't tell anyone what hasn't been declassified for the Office of Professional Responsibility, or what he learned from the leak investigation about any of his accusers.

But, fortunately for Abu Gitmo, he doesn't even know how to spell ethics. These people know one thing, power, and how to destroy people while saving their own miserable asses. The whole bunch of them should be disbarred, then turned over to the Hague. But alas, justice died the day Alberto Gonzales was approved by the Senate to be Attorney General.

Come ON Powerline, Get With The Program

Even the somewhat sober and somber Captain Ed says Gonzo is Toast. The children doing their time-outs in The Corner admit that the Attorney General's "disastrous" testimony proves that he has zero clue. And those lovably creepy Freepers are Freaking.

Ever loyal, the Red (faced) Staters are done and ready to post a want ad.

Yet inconceivably (and incoherently), Powerline thinks Abu Gitmo did a heckuvajob.

Look guys, I know you need to keep up your cred as cutting edge ass kissers, but in this situation if you can't say something horrible about Alberto Gonzales, just shut up like everybody else.

(Hat Tip: dmsilev)

Gonzales: Cue The Fat Lady

The orchestra is certaily tuning up in anticipation of Alberto Gonzales' resignation with names being floated for his replacement according to McClatchy Newspapers. I wouldn't bet against Jeb being tapped, absurd as that might sound. It's really just a matter of days or hours now since MSNBC just said that Bush gave Gonzo a Heckuvajob phone call this morning.

McClatchy has been all over this, and the article that notes replacements being vetted (Hat Tip Ara) says both abu Gitmo AND Deputy A.G. Paul McNulty are all but out. Interestingly, the by-line is not the two reporters who were originally covering this, Margaret Talev and Marisa Taylor. Now there's a two man team on it as well.

I do agree with Rose that Paul McNulty is history. He pissed off Gonzo so either way he's gone. Kyle Sampson (who already resigned but is itching to spill his guts) may have been the one who suborned perjury, but McNulty made Gonzo look bad by contradicting what he told Congress, AND for this kind of fun:

The American Spectator has learned that members of McNulty's staff are supporting the possible nomination to one of the vacant U.S. Attorney slots of a former government lawyer who had an affair with a colleague and now resides with not one, but two women in what some in the DAG's office have termed a "tri-sexual" relationship.

"That residential situation would be adjusted if the name was put forward," says someone familiar with the thinking in McNulty's office.

Don't forget (how could we ever forget) that it becomes a serious matter if blow jobs are involved. Bad prosecuting means not going after enough adult book stores at the expense of child obscenity cases...at least according to the Department's Porn Czar, the man who would shut down all theose girls going wild videos.

The DoJ has come to a complete halt because they have completely stopped communicating, fearing anything they say (or especially write) will be used against them as it gets turned over to Congress. This has crippled the entire department simply because (as usual) the Rovavellian politicalization of absolutely everything in this administration puts power, politics and ideology above serving the people.

You Can't Spell Controversy Without R.O.V.E.

Shep (who really should start his own blog) points us here:

John Dean: Refocusing the Impeachment Movement on Administration Officials Below the President and Vice-President: "The House Judiciary Committee Should Undertake Appropriate Proceedings

Given the number of officials within the Bush Administration who may have been engaged in Constitutional high crimes or misdemeanors, and the nature of the impeachment process, there is no shortage of civil officers worthy of consideration. Where there is clear prima facie evidence of such constitutional misconduct, impeachment action should be commenced."

Exhibit "A" -- Elliot Abrams, despite his pardon, could have been disqualified from holding office through the impeachment process.

Currently Alberto Gonzales is the focus of much of the left's wrath with a growing chorus calling for his resignation, and some intra-party partisans will point out that many of the current Democratic presidential contenders voted against his nomination, notably Clinton, Obama and Biden. John Edwards came out against the nomination as well even though he wasn't in the Senate at the time.

My question is, (since so much has been made about Edwards' vote for the Iraq war lately, suggesting that he should have done something then and not just speak out now) is why Gonzales wasn't given the same treatment as John Bolton or even a closely fought battle like we saw with Alito?

Obama:

The President is not the Attorney General's client - the people are. And so the true test of an Attorney General nominee is whether that person is ready to put the Constitution of the people before the political agenda of the President. As such, I cannot approach this nomination the same way I approached that of Secretary of State Rice or VA Secretary Nicholson or any other Cabinet position. The standard is simply higher.

Where was the filibuster threat? If this position was so important, so substantively different than other administration officials, where was the "hold" of the nomination from Joe, Hillary and Barack?

This isn't sour grapes, this is outrage that the man who gave cover to an administration engaged in kidnapping, torture, murder and wholesale spying on you and me was given the job in the first place -- without a fight.

NOW we're suprised, shocked! Shocked that there was some shenanigans going on?

Well, at least they didn't vote for Gonzo.

(UPDATED with improved linkage.)

Did I Say Rove? I Meant, Impeach Bush NOW

The pretense is over. We cannot continue to be led by a man who's disdain for the law and complete politicization of absolutely every single decision he makes.

White House Said to Prompt Firing of Prosecutors - New York Times: "Last October, President Bush spoke with Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales to pass along concerns by Republicans that some prosecutors were not aggressively addressing voter fraud, the White House said Monday. Senator Pete V. Domenici, Republican of New Mexico, was among the politicians who complained directly to the president, according to an administration official."

I want my country back, a country I loved and was worthy of the respect of the entire planet.

We used to set the example for respecting human dignity and civil liberties, our prosperity proving what could happen when no one, not even the President, could put themselves above the law.

In our system, there is no single law enforcement officer with more discretion than a prosecutor except for the cop on the beat. When you interfere with that discretion, you unravel the very fabric of our system.

When you pressure a U.S. Attorney to bring down more of your political rivals, you are engaging in a conspiracy more fitting of a tyrant, a move reminiscent of the worst dictators.

Gonzales, Domenici, Rove, and now, President Bush himself, are unworthy to walk the halls of government -- a government of all the people, not just Republicans. This is no better, indeed worse than the charge of obstruction of justice, because when individual U.S. Attorneys are fired for pure partisan spite, it not only interferes with that specific office, but sends a message to all the other U.S. Attorneys that they better get in line.

Yes, they are indeed political appointees serving at the pleasure of the President -- and wholesale changes in their ranks are standard operating procedure when an administration changes.

This is different.

Clearly there was an attempt to influence elections through the abuse of prosecutorial power. Clearly there was an interference with the judicial system by the executive at the request of a friendly member of the legislative branch. This is a slap at all three branches of government plus the people who they represent -- all at once. Voting, the courts, Congress and the President -- all have been cheapened by this horrible episode.

If this precedent is allowed to stand, our system will become a joke. To sweep this under the rug, to minimize its import will codify a corrupt and diseased power structure into the foreseeable future -- where no citizen is safe from retaliation for politically unapproved acts.

We cannot defend the liberties inscribed in the Constitution knowing that those who are not members of the party in power are subject to politically motivated abuse of prosecutorial power. When those who would shout the loudest against Constitutional abominations like the Patriot Act and Military Commissions Act live under a cloud of "legal" retaliation, there is no limit to the subjugation of our rights as citizens of this country by unscrupulous, power-mad despots.

Bush might as well just go through the voter rolls of the last election and jail everyone who didn't vote for him. Only then will he be able to create the nation his dementia wants to create.

A politically motivated prosecution is a text book case of abuse of process, a crime in and of itself. That is what Domenici was requesting and Bush, by all apparent evidence, was willing to grant. This undermines every court in the land. Every defense attorney in America with a client who was the least bit political, now has a built-in argument that he or she is merely a victim of a corrupt system.

Heckuvajob Chimpy.

While You're At It, Impeach Rove

It didn't take long for three of the most influential liberal blogs to call for the impeachment of Alberto Gonzales after the New York Times advised President Bush to (finally) dismiss the worst Attorney General since Ed Meese. (And to be fair, Gonzo is way worse than Meese ever was.)

The Times article lays out the case against the Attorney General in no uncertain terms. Gonzales is a disgrace. The politically motivated US Attorney firings, the FBI illegally spying on Americans, giving the administration legal cover to engage in "kidnapping, secret detentions, abuse and torture," trashing the authority of the courts and the clearly worded meaning of laws, and undermining the electoral process itself. He is indeed,"consigliere to Mr. Bush’s imperial presidency."

MyDD's Jonathan Singer actually beat the Times to the punch, hoping impeachment hearings will force Gonzales' resignation while noting that the Senate Judiciary Committee's Ranking Member, Arlen Spector (R-PA) has had enough of the nation's top law enforcement official acting like he got his law degree out of a box of Cracker Jack.

"One day, there will be a new attorney general, maybe sooner rather than later"

Well before the we lost an hour to Daylight Saving Time, The Big Tent Democrat at TalkLeft joined MyDD in the quest for the AG's impeachment. McJoan at that Orange Blog also called for Alberto's impeachment not 20 minutes later.

This of course proves that there is a vast left-wing conspiracy -- if you're a Fox News commentator that is. The Times, by merely calling for Gonzales' dismissal, just set the talking points for this morning's Sunday Bobbleheads. Brit Hume's eyes will bug out of his pointy head as he tells us how Shocked! ... Shocked he is that anyone would listen to such an obvious liberal hit-job.

The Times doesn't go far enough for us real liberals.

Another thing became clear this evening. Once again, Karl Rove is at the center of a White House scandal. It really should be no surprise that Rove's name should come up in the context of the fired U.S. Attorneys scandal -- affectionately known as the "Overblown Personnel Matter."

Margaret Talev and Marisa Taylor, McClatchy Newspapers: Presidential advisor Karl Rove and at least one other member of the White House political team were urged by the New Mexico Republican party chairman to fire the state's U.S. attorney because of dissatisfaction in part with his failure to indict Democrats in a voter fraud investigation in the battleground election state.

In an interview Saturday with McClatchy Newspapers, Allen Weh, the party chairman, said he complained in 2005 about then-U.S. Attorney David Iglesias to a White House liaison who worked for Rove and asked that he be removed. Weh said he followed up with Rove personally in late 2006 during a visit to the White House.

"Is anything ever going to happen to that guy?" Weh said he asked Rove at a White House holiday event that month.

"He's gone," Rove said, according to Weh.

[snip]

"Anyone with any experience within the Justice Department is completely shocked and appalled by what has been described," said Stanley Hunterton, a former federal prosecutor of 12 years who investigated organized crime in Detroit and Las Vegas. "One of the things the Department has stood for was being apolitical. Sure, politics does gets involved in the appointment process, but this is just nuts."

It's really this simple. The Attorney General committed perjury when he told Congress: "We have never asked a U.S. attorney to resign in an effort to retaliate against him or her or to inappropriately interfere with a public corruption case." This was a lie, because Karl Rove, known CIA cover blower, knew that someone in the White House "inappropriately interfered" in a public corruption case and fired what looks like more than a few U.S. Attorneys in retaliation.

The fact is, the real liberal conspiracy belongs to those of us who not only know better (that Bush will never fire Gonzo, let alone Turd Blossom) and are not afraid to stake out a controversial position even though we we know there are many who will disagree with us. The conspiracy can better be summed up with an old maxim that was played out in the 10:00 hour -- Great Minds Thinks Alike.

Moderate Left must be another term for Dispassionate Liberal.

I mean…my God, at what point do we start the impeachment proceedings?

The closest adviser to President Bush was actively involved in using the Justice Department to score political points against Democrats, and took steps to fire U.S. Attorneys who were insufficiently partisan.

That’s the opposite of everything that the Justice Department is supposed to stand for.

Alberto Gonzales and Karl Rove should be fired immediately. Not tomorrow, not after breakfast, immediately. If that does not happen, Congress should immediately begin hearings into whether the President’s use of the Justice Department to harass political enemies is an impeachable offense. It certainly is contrary to the spirit of the Constitution.

My "moderate" friend is so excitable. A "dispassionate" examination of the situation would inform him that Gonzales himself is a Civil Officer of the United States, subject to impeachment pursuant to Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution. Rove, as Deputy Chief of Staff likewise is impeachable -- after all, he's not getting paid out of the spare change found in the cushions of the Oval Office couches.

What's fun is that if the pattern we saw in the Libby case holds, Rove will sing like a canary when it looks like his own hide is being hung out to dry once he's sworn in. Who's going to lay odds that the approval process of the list of which U.S. Attorneys to fire went through the Office of Vice President?

Anybody? Any takers on my bet? Anybody?

Beuler?

No?

I guess the secret's out. Gonzales, Rove and Dick Cheney abuse more power before breakfast than Nixon could have dreamed up if he'd been given a third term.