Bush Personally Intervened To Arrange Ashcroft Hospital Visit And Kneecap Comey

[babylonsister]

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/05/16/bush-comey/

Bush Personally Intervened To Arrange Ashcroft Hospital Visit And Kneecap Comey

During his testimony yesterday, former Deputy Attorney General James Comey noted that John Ashcroft’s wife “had banned all visitors and all phone calls” to the hospital due to Ashcroft’s poor condition. So how were Alberto Gonzales and Andrew Card able to make it into Ashcroft’s room to pressure him to overrule Comey and reauthorize the warrantless spying program?

Comey explained yesterday:

COMEY: Mrs. Ashcroft reported that a call had come through, and that as a result of that call Mr. Card and Mr. Gonzales were on their way to the hospital to see Mr. Ashcroft.

SCHUMER: Do you have any idea who that call was from?

COMEY: I have some recollection that the call was from the president himself.

Comey’s statements show that President Bush was directly involved in the effort to override the administration’s own lawyers and reauthorize the warrantless spying program despite an “extensive review” by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel stating “that the program did not comply with the law.”

This hardly comes as a surprise. As Newsweek reported in January 2006, Bush was “miffed” at Comey for not being a “team player” on the spying issue.

On one day in the spring of 2004, White House chief of staff Andy Card and the then White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales made a bedside visit to John Ashcroft, attorney general at the time, who was stricken with a rare and painful pancreatic disease, to try–without success–to get him to reverse his deputy, Acting Attorney General James Comey, who was balking at the warrantless eavesdropping. Miffed that Comey, a straitlaced, by-the-book former U.S. attorney from New York, was not a “team player” on this and other issues, President George W. Bush dubbed him with a derisive nickname, “Cuomo,” after Mario Cuomo, the New York governor who vacillated over running for president in the 1980s.

Comey explained yesterday that, even after Ashcroft rebuked Gonzales and Card, Bush pushed forward and reauthorized the spying program without the Justice Department’s approval. Only later, facing a threat of mass resignations, did Bush crack and allow the changes in the program sought by the Justice Department lawyers.

[bdamomma]

1. we have our own crime family in office, and just think 3 more

episodes of the Sopranos, and unfortunately we have many more episodes of the Bush Crime Family ugh!!!!!!!!!!

[Norquist Nemesis]

2. Maybe there's something in the RICO statute...

one can only hope because we're sure not getting anywhere with Impeachment! :grr:

[EVDebs]

3. Doing it 'by the book' now means following the Constitution

Following the Nixonian/Yu theory of law, when the President does it it's legal doesn't fly. Besides, who will rid Bush of those inconvenient priests, ooops, I mean US Attorneys ?

[Missy Vixen]

4. Proud to be the fifth recommendation

This was the news story of yesterday. Hell, it's the news story of the last six years.

Julie

[cally]

5. I've been wondering how they got Mrs. Ashcroft to agree to the visit

I recently went through a horrible ordeal with my husband who was in intensive care for 12 days. (Thankfully, he's now fully recovered!) However, I refused to let anyone into the room that was not immediate family since he wasn't capable of visiting. No way would I have let a work related visit. It probably did take a call from * to get her to agree. I still would have refused but I'm not a political aspirant.

[Virginia Dare]

12. Maybe that's why she called Comey?

perhaps she was uncomfortable with the nature of the call, but didn't know how to refuse the President? He probably strong-armed her, the ratfuck.

[Maraya1969]

14. I bet they would show up even if you refused. They have no respect for people's privacy.

Hence the illegal wiretapping.

[quiet.american]

6. Yet, NYT headline reads: President Intervened in Dispute Over Eavesdropping -- ???

And completely leaves out James Comey's first mention of Bush, and that the call indeed came from the WH that sent Gonzales and Card over to Ashcroft's sickbed to browbeat him into signing off on warrantless wiretaps.

The article makes Bush look like a benign referree.

[Perky]

17. Hard to say for sure

I suspect Bush only heard o0ne side of the dispute before the call. Heard the otherside the nex day and when he realized the depths of DOJ concerend rescinded the illegal reauthorization.

[quiet.american]

19. Bush gets NO benefit of the doubt from me.

The only reason he relented is that mass resignations from the DoJ would have definitely shone a spotlight on the illegality of the program and his role in pushing it through.

[Lasher]

21. We have seen that it is a mistake to give Junior the benefit of the doubt.

The way I heard this reported on TV was, Junior's involvement was limited to telling these people, at length, to "...work it out." No mention whatever of his call to Ashcroft's hospital room. I'm thinking it was Anderson Cooper I was watching.

Like so many times before I had to come to DU to learn the truth.

[Jacobin]

7. but he didn't get a blow job so we can't impeach him

America is fucking nuts

[Skidmore]

8. You can bet that Gonzo doesn't ever do anything on his own

initiative, and probably gets permission from his lord and master to make peepee in the potty. You betcha * decided. Gonzo is incapable of independent thinking.

[I Have A Dream]

9. Kicking and recommended. n/t

[Cha]

10. This is buzzflash's top

headline! Who knew we'd have empathy with john freakin' ashcroft?

[Virginia Dare]

11. Vito Corleone would be impressed...

"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse", jeezus what a bunch of criminal fuckwads.

[madrchsod]

13. it would take more than a pig farm cowboy

to knee cap comey...they could`t touch two of the toughest son of a bitchs in justice dept.--- comey and fitzgerald.

[Perky]

15. Its a great story...but I take some exception to the last paragaph

That is not what Cormey said yesterday.

Here is how AP reported Cormey's tetsimony

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EAVESDROPPING?SITE=CATOR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-05-16-02-49-41

Seems to me the scenerio was the Gonzo/Card/Cheney asked the President to get involved and Bush whippped child that hie is got the clowns access. but then heard from Cormey and Mueller the next day and sided with them.

Seems to me the notion that Bush "cracked" may not have been an accurate assesement of how it got resolved. the revisions still stunk but :shrug:

[yardwork]

26. Yes! The revisions themselves are secret - we don't know what the program is really doing

but Bush certainly never "cracked" on this.

[democrat2thecore]

16. I just read this a few minutes ago

I was stunned at this testimony. There had been word previously that Ashcroft opposed the secret wiretap program, but to have it spelled out in such great detail and to hear lengths that this White House went to - it just leaves me speechless. It's damn scary is what it is.

[The Backlash Cometh]

18. Man, don't you get the impression that Bush's frat meetings to pick pledges

must have been brutal. His little black ball must have worked overtime.

[Supersedeas]

20. the filth rises all the way to the top

[whistle]

22. Why wait any further? Impeach Bush and Cheney now!

[L. Coyote]

23. K&R w/LBN = Justice Weighed Firing 1 in 4 - 26 Prosecutors Were Listed

Justice Weighed Firing 1 in 4 - 26 Prosecutors Were Listed As Candidates
by Dan Eggen and Amy Goldstein - Washington Post
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2848874

[lonestarnot]

24. E x p o s e d. The JIG IS UP.

[IronLionZion]

25. WWJGD?

What would John Gotti do? Actually, the GOP thugs probably do worse things.

[Cass]

27. Whoa.

:wow:

How much of a smarm do you have to be to try to take advantage of a very sick man like this. Holy cow.