How One Gets To Be Attorney General
Today's congressional hearings reminded me that I am still capable of being shocked and infuriated by the sheer thuggery of this administration. From an AP report published in the May 15, 2007 late edition of the Sacramento Bee:
Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he refused to recertify the program because Attorney General John Ashcroft had reservations about its legality just before falling ill with pancreatitis in March 2004.
The White House, Comey said, recertified the program without the Justice Department's signoff, allowing it to operate for about three weeks without concurrence on whether it was legal. Comey, Ashcroft, FBI Director Robert Mueller and other Justice Department officials at one point considered resigning, Comey said. [Emphasis added]
When Mr. Comey, then acting as Attorney General because of John Ashcroft's illness, refused to sign off on the program, the White House decided to use an end-around tactic:
Comey testified Tuesday that when he refused to certify the program, [then White House Counsel Alberto]Gonzales and [White House Chief of Staff Andy] Card headed to Ashcroft's sick bed in the intensive care unit at George Washington University Hospital.
When Gonzales appealed to Ashcroft, the ailing attorney general lifted his head off the pillow and in straightforward terms described his views of the program, Comey said. Then he pointed out that Comey, not Ashcroft, held the powers of the attorney general at that moment.
The intrepid White House duo went to a sick man's hospital bed and tried to get him to sign off on the program's certification! Now, I didn't think much of John Ashcroft as Attorney General then, and I still don't, but I do have a little more respect for him as a man after hearing about this incident.
Ultimately, the White House backed down on a few of the items that concerned Mr. Ashcroft, and once those changes were made he did sign on to certify the program that I still believe to be clearly illegal under the FISA legislation and certainly unconstitutional.
I hope Mr. Comey's testimony revives the flagging interest in either forcing Mr. Gonzales' resignation or proceeding to impeach him. This episode confirms that Mr. Gonzales, along with his White House overlords, has absolutely no respect for the rule of law or for the Constitution. It also confirms that he is incapable of basic human decency and has no shame.
Here's what I don't get: just what are Congressional Democrats waiting for?
Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he refused to recertify the program because Attorney General John Ashcroft had reservations about its legality just before falling ill with pancreatitis in March 2004.
The White House, Comey said, recertified the program without the Justice Department's signoff, allowing it to operate for about three weeks without concurrence on whether it was legal. Comey, Ashcroft, FBI Director Robert Mueller and other Justice Department officials at one point considered resigning, Comey said. [Emphasis added]
When Mr. Comey, then acting as Attorney General because of John Ashcroft's illness, refused to sign off on the program, the White House decided to use an end-around tactic:
Comey testified Tuesday that when he refused to certify the program, [then White House Counsel Alberto]Gonzales and [White House Chief of Staff Andy] Card headed to Ashcroft's sick bed in the intensive care unit at George Washington University Hospital.
When Gonzales appealed to Ashcroft, the ailing attorney general lifted his head off the pillow and in straightforward terms described his views of the program, Comey said. Then he pointed out that Comey, not Ashcroft, held the powers of the attorney general at that moment.
The intrepid White House duo went to a sick man's hospital bed and tried to get him to sign off on the program's certification! Now, I didn't think much of John Ashcroft as Attorney General then, and I still don't, but I do have a little more respect for him as a man after hearing about this incident.
Ultimately, the White House backed down on a few of the items that concerned Mr. Ashcroft, and once those changes were made he did sign on to certify the program that I still believe to be clearly illegal under the FISA legislation and certainly unconstitutional.
I hope Mr. Comey's testimony revives the flagging interest in either forcing Mr. Gonzales' resignation or proceeding to impeach him. This episode confirms that Mr. Gonzales, along with his White House overlords, has absolutely no respect for the rule of law or for the Constitution. It also confirms that he is incapable of basic human decency and has no shame.
Here's what I don't get: just what are Congressional Democrats waiting for?
Labels: Domestic Spying, Fourth Amendment, Justice Department
posted by Diane at 6:54 PM
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