But He Knows His Place
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has been caught in another lie, prompting yet another letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee intended to "clarify" some "confusing" testimony. This time it has to do with attendance at political briefings offered by the White House. From today's Washington Post:
Justice Department officials attended at least a dozen political briefings at the White House since 2001, including some meetings led by Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser, and others that were focused on election trends prior to the 2006 midterm contest, according to documents released yesterday.
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales told the Senate Judiciary Committee last week that he did not believe that senior Justice Department officials had attended such briefings. But he clarified his testimony yesterday in a letter to Congress, emphasizing that the briefings were not held at the agency's offices.
At the July 24 hearing, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) asked Gonzales whether any of "the leadership of the Department of Justice" had participated in political briefings, pointing to examples involving employees from the State Department, Peace Corps and U.S. Agency for International Development.
"Not that I'm aware of. . . . I don't believe so, sir," Gonzales said.
Justice officials attended 12 political briefings at the White House, and another held at the Department of Agriculture, from 2001 to 2006, according to the list sent to Waxman. At least five were led by Rove or included presentations by him.
The list compiled by Justice did not include many details about the kind of information presented at those briefings. One March 2001 meeting included a "political update" from Rove and a discussion on "how we can work together to advance the President's agenda." [Emphasis added]
Apparently Mr. Gonzales is laboring under the misconception that where these meetings were held is the determinative factor. Holding them in a Justice office: bad. Holding them elsewhere: perfectly OK. The fact that those meetings themselves are by their very nature illegal doesn't seem to bother the nation's top lawyer, which means that Mr. Gonzales is also laboring under the misconception that the Hatch Act doesn't apply to Department of Justice employees.
What is most disturbing, however, is that apparently Mr. Gonzales thinks the oath he took was to "advance the President's agenda" rather than to "uphold the Constitution," yet another misconception.
It's time that Congress disabuse Betito of these misconceptions.
Impeach him.
Justice Department officials attended at least a dozen political briefings at the White House since 2001, including some meetings led by Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser, and others that were focused on election trends prior to the 2006 midterm contest, according to documents released yesterday.
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales told the Senate Judiciary Committee last week that he did not believe that senior Justice Department officials had attended such briefings. But he clarified his testimony yesterday in a letter to Congress, emphasizing that the briefings were not held at the agency's offices.
At the July 24 hearing, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) asked Gonzales whether any of "the leadership of the Department of Justice" had participated in political briefings, pointing to examples involving employees from the State Department, Peace Corps and U.S. Agency for International Development.
"Not that I'm aware of. . . . I don't believe so, sir," Gonzales said.
Justice officials attended 12 political briefings at the White House, and another held at the Department of Agriculture, from 2001 to 2006, according to the list sent to Waxman. At least five were led by Rove or included presentations by him.
The list compiled by Justice did not include many details about the kind of information presented at those briefings. One March 2001 meeting included a "political update" from Rove and a discussion on "how we can work together to advance the President's agenda." [Emphasis added]
Apparently Mr. Gonzales is laboring under the misconception that where these meetings were held is the determinative factor. Holding them in a Justice office: bad. Holding them elsewhere: perfectly OK. The fact that those meetings themselves are by their very nature illegal doesn't seem to bother the nation's top lawyer, which means that Mr. Gonzales is also laboring under the misconception that the Hatch Act doesn't apply to Department of Justice employees.
What is most disturbing, however, is that apparently Mr. Gonzales thinks the oath he took was to "advance the President's agenda" rather than to "uphold the Constitution," yet another misconception.
It's time that Congress disabuse Betito of these misconceptions.
Impeach him.
Labels: Justice Department
posted by Diane at 4:22 AM
1 Comments:
It's the same thinking that Fielding is using in claiming that executive privilege forbids Harriet Miers from even walking into Congress to testify under oath, but it wouldn't forbid her from talking privately, off the record and not under oath, to the committee members.
Frankly, neither one of them seems to be a very astute lawyer. The questions Kennedy asked Gonzales had nothing to do with the PLACE; they were all about the people and the substance of what was discussed, and if Gonzales believes that he can skip away from perjury by saying he understood the question to have to do with the location, then he is delusional.
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