DOJ report: Gonzales lied to Inspector General - Smoking Gun included

[sabra]

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/spytalk/2008/09/down-deep-in-ig-report-evidenc.html

Deep in Justice Report, Evidence of Gonzales Perjury

If lying to FBI agents was enough to send Scooter Libby to jail, why isn't it enough to prosecute Alberto Gonzales?

Despite strong evidence in a today's Justice Department report that the former attorney general lied to federal investigators probing his careless handling of highly classified documents, the department declined to prosecute.

Indeed, initial news reports on the Inspector General's findings didn't even mention the evidence of perjury, focusing instead on Gonzales's "mishandling" of notes and more-than-Top Secret documents relating to the administration's secret wiretapping and terrorist detention programs,

...

In a statement that doesn't pass the laugh test, Gonzales told IG investigators he didn't know the documents were secret.

Gonzales said that he was unaware of the classification level and compartmented nature of the NSA program he referenced in the notes. Gonzales also stated he did not recall thinking that the notes themselves were classified.


But the IG found the smoking gun -- in Gonzales's hand, no less.

The envelope containing documents related to the NSA surveillance program bore the handwritten markings, "TOP SECRET - EYES ONLY - ARG" {the attorney general's initials} followed by an abbreviation for the SCI codeword for the program.

[Ichingcarpenter]

1. I read the beginning of this story I think last Friday

I'm hoping for prison now for him

[Betsy Ross]

2. My experience with classified documents

is that every page is stamped with the highest level of security for any part of the page. Where appropriate, the security of each line is identified. But rules may have changed under this administration. LOL!

[pinto]

3. An amazing story lost of late. And he took them when he went over to Justice. Said they were

"presidential records" or such. :wtf: There was a brief blip on CNN I caught this afternoon.

[angstlessk]

4. I guess the 'bad publicity' is all the punishment he needs, after all

this is not the DOJ this is the CYA ..another of the repuke slap in the face of the American people! Everytime I hear some repuke say, palin lives near russia, or is the cic of the national guard, which proves she has foreign policy experience, or she is more experienced and qualified than all of the other candidates, I feel like someone has popped their hand right out of the teevee and slapped me right across my face and laughed at me! :grr:

[crickets]

5. Outright perjury...

from a former attorney general, no less. I know it sounds like a lot to hope for, but somebody NAIL HIM for this. Even if they have to wait for Bush to leave office, somebody hang on to this and hoist him on his own petard. He's just one of the many Bush cronies who should be in jail - not 'shamed' and let go - put in jail.

[pleah]

6. K&R

:kick:

[FatDave]

7. Hold on a minute now.

Do we want to prosecute him now? Or wait until after 1/21/09? I vote for the latter.