| Loads of things happened surrounding the prosecutor purge controversy. Here are some of the highlights:
Congress put more pressure on Gonzo, and by all accounts, he was completely miserable, worse than ever. The kicker was over testimony concerning Gonzo?s attempt to wring intelligence concessions from then-Attorney Gen?l Ashcroft while he was in the ICU, in which Gonzo blames everybody but himself. But the one moment that seems to bode trouble for the Attorney General was his contradictory remarks about Bush?s spying activities. Basically the testimony was so bad that Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) was talking impeachement. A guy can dream, can?t he?
The House Judiciary Committee approved of issuing a contempt of Congress citation against Josh Bolton and Harriet Miers for failing to appear before Congress to give testimony on the attorney firings. A full House vote on the citation needs to occur before it is issued. The DoJ has vowed to ignore the citation, setting up a constitutional confrontation between Congress and the White House. (The Gavel has video of Congressional leaders? comments.)
BooMan is most shocked by the fact that the Committee vote was along strict party lines, noting a similar citation against the Reagan White House was approved of in 1983 by a 413-0 vote: ?Ronald Reagan was not only a Republican president, unlike Bush he was a popular president. Nevertheless, in 1983, not a single Republican member of congress was willing to let him stonewall a congressional committee. Today, not a single Republican on the Judiciary Committee was willing to say the same.?
What?s ironic about Republican opposition is that they don?t want this citation to get to court, for fear of losing it and creating an ?imperial presidency.? Rightie Ed Morrissey has the reasoning behind this stance.
That?s why House Democrats wrote a report used to justify the citation, which alleges ?specific ways that several administration officials may have broken the law during the multiple firings of U.S. attorneys.? According to the report, DoJ and White House officials ?obstructed justice and violated federal statutes that protect civil service employees, prohibit political retaliation against government officials and cover presidential records,? all of which seem clearly substantiated from DoJ and WH testimony in recent weeks, and should bolster Congress? case that criminal wrongdoing actually occurred. At the very least, they?ve got evidence of perjury on Alberto Gonzalez. |
