Internal Review By WH Concluded That Gonzo Was An Obstacle (Newsweek)

[kpete]

Why Gonzales Bailed
Newsweek

Sept. 10, 2007 issue - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told friends he resigned last week at the urging of his wife following a summer vacation. But he had plenty of reasons to leave the capital. Just days earlier, congressional leaders had signaled they intended to keep the attorney general in their crosshairs this fall, forcing him to testify at length about the administration's warrantless surveillance efforts before they would consider passing new legislation on the subject.

That prospect, combined with hints that an internal Justice Department probe was expanding to include allegations that Gonzales had lied to Congress, created mounting anxiety at the White House, according to officials who asked not to be identified talking about internal deliberations. A former colleague urged Gonzales to step down months ago, but the A.G. hung on—believing the president wanted him to stay, the official said. By last week, that no longer seemed to be the case. One big reason: an internal review by chief of staff Josh Bolten concluded that Gonzales was so politically weak he had become an obstacle to Bush's agenda, especially on the passage of an updated Foreign Intelligence Surveillance law.

The White House is looking for a new A.G. who can work with Congress. Aides called around, asking about four candidates: former deputy attorney general Larry Thompson (who would be the first African-American A.G.), former solicitor general Ted Olson, former deputy A.G. George Terwilliger, and current Solicitor General Paul Clement (the acting A.G. once Gonzales leaves). Aides say the final selection likely won't come until Bush returns from this week's trip to Australia for an economic summit.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20546340/site/newsweek/

[Solly Mack]

1. I said (and not just me) he'd resign if it benefited the WH

Course, I also thought they'd reach that conclusion earlier than they did

[live love laugh]

2. "...the capital..."????

Sorry, the error jumped out at me.

[LiberalFighter]

4. Isn't it all about money?

[FormerDittoHead]

6. Yup. It's in the original article. Thought it was a pasting problem, but no, it's there. n/t

...for those of us who have learned the difference from "capital" to "capitol"...

[soothsayer]

8. i'm guessing nation's capital?

[FormerDittoHead]

11. You learn something new... "Capitol" versus "Capital"...

After dealing with an advertisement which did wordplay with "A Capital Idea" (an ad for a convention in DC) I was left with the impression that "Capitol" referred to "the nation's capitol" - according to

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/capitol

however, "capitol" refers to only the actual BUILDING... interesting...

versus:

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/capital

...on further research, however, Wikipedia (and I have no suspicion about such a topic) DOES make reference to "Capitol Hill", in DC:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitol_Hill%2C_Washington%2C_D.C.

So, in the end, I'm going to be more relaxed about the thing...

[JohnnyLib2]

3. "It's his fault" "No, it's his fault"

Ol' Gonzo has joined a big club with a lot of members who wore generals' stars.

Will Condi be next? Stay tuned for "As The WH Wobbles"

:evilgrin:

[lligrd]

5. So Gonzo Was Gullible Enough To Believe That * Cared For Him

and just now realized that he was just a tool to pretend that the neocons are Hispanic friendly. Karma!

[JohnnyLib2]

7. Familiar story, eh? He should have checked with DU!

:rofl:

[texpatriot2004]

9. K & R nm

[L. Coyote]

10. "Gonzales-Rove Plan is a criminal enterprise crafted to thwart the Hatch Act"

Were Rove and Gonzales Fired for Hatch Act Violations? Probably.

===========================
Pay No Attention to the Man Behind The Curtain
Scott Horton - May 10, 2007
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/05/hbc-90000037

..............

In the end, the Gonzales-Rove Plan is a criminal enterprise crafted to thwart the Hatch Act, and it needs to be investigated and prosecuted. Who says so? A majority of the public. And, in an interview with the Seattle Times, two former Republican prosecutors, John McKay and David Iglesias. Career prosecutor McKay (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003699882_webmckayforum09m.html):

“I think there will be a criminal case that will come out of this,” McKay said during his meeting with Times journalists. “This is going to get worse, not better.” McKay cited ongoing investigations into the dismissals by the Senate and House Judiciary committees, and inquiries now under way by the Justice Department’s inspector general and its Office of Professional Responsibility.

McKay said he believes obstruction-of-justice charges will be filed if investigators conclude that the dismissal of any of the eight prosecutors was motivated by an attempt to influence ongoing public-corruption or voter-fraud investigations. McKay said he believes the strongest evidence of obstruction is related to the dismissals of Iglesias and Carol Lam, the former U.S. Attorney in San Diego.

I think that the inescapable necessity of criminal investigations and prosecutions is finally sinking in. The Bush Administration has held to a consistent pattern of conduct in such situations in the past: scapegoat the grunts and deny any liability up the chain. The “grunts” here are Monica Goodling and Kyle Sampson. Gonzales maneuvered very skillfully in delegating everything to them in order to preserve a thin aura of deniability (which he will use exhaustively in his testimony today before the House Judiciary Committee). The best evidence of all this is the secret order delegating the power to hire and fire to Goodling and Sampson, which has just been made public (http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/others-charge/). .........

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MORE: Has Rove's Egg Hatched? The Firing of KARL ROVE or Why His Family Needs Him Now.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1591504