By Brian Bohl
President George W. Bush said Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will not need to worry about finding a new job just yet. When that time finally does arrive for the head Justice Department official to look for a new employer, perhaps he could try his hand as spokesman for an emerging company specializing in amnesia pills.
In front of the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, Gonzales testified at least 50 times that he either wasn’t sure or couldn’t remember specifics about the firing of eight United States attorneys. Mr. Bush shrugged off the faulty-memory fest, insisting that his confidence is not shaken in a key member of his cabinet.
But it seems the president is the only one expressing his support. Both Republicans and Democrats bashed Gonzales after his performance, with many non-liberal lawmakers calling for his dismissal. Nine out of 19 committee members are Republicans, but outside of Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, there was a unanimous consensus that the testimony provided was not truthful.
The heart of the controversy stems from Gonzales’ statements that contradict e-mail records and other first-hand accounts from people involved with the dismissals. The hearings are looking into if the firings were politically motivated in the run-up to the November elections, but the commentary both during and after the hearings demonstrated that only the White House thinks there are no moral issues with failing to answer direct questions about his role in the firings.
“I don’t believe that you’re involved in a conspiracy to fire somebody because they wouldn’t prosecute a particular enemy of a politician or a friend of a politician,” said South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. “But at the end of the day, you said something that struck me: that sometimes it just came down to these were not the right people at the right time. If I applied that standard to you, what would you say?”
Even the support Gonzales received from Republicans can be described as lukewarm. Kansas Senator Sam Brownback, a presidential candidate for 2008, offered this non-committal response after last Thursday’s hearing:
“Although his answers suggested that there were serious managerial issues at the Department of Justice, I did not see a factual basis to call for his resignation,” Brownback said. “As for whether the attorney general should resign, that is a question I leave to him and to the president.”
Brownback and Graham will never be confused with New York Senator Charles Schumer when it comes to political ideology, so their words demonstrate how the Bush administration’s newest scandal may finally be the tipping point when it comes to eroding Congressional support for Mr. Bush.
Unlike in previous years, the Gonzales hearing actually represented a legitimate bipartisan effort to ascertain facts in a case of national importance. Instead of using subpoena power as an outlet to elicit points for the members’ specific political party, the hearing last week epitomized the ideal that checks and balances is supposed to be employed among the three branches of government. For the first six years of the Bush administration, the executive enjoyed little scrutiny and near unanimous support thanks to a Republican majority content to furnish every White House request.
After the Democrats took back a slight majority in the November midterm elections, the tone in Washington began to shift. Even loyal Republicans are wary about the president’s low poll numbers and perpetual controversies. The rhetoric is intensifying between Vice President Dick Cheney and Congress over a potential troop withdrawal in Iraq that would be tied to an emergency spending bill.
The Gonzales hearing is just another example of the divide between the two non-judicial branches. In previous years, the attorney general might have heard the calls from his ouster from Democrats but could have taken Republican support for granted. Now, prominent members of both parties are putting pressure on Mr. Bush to make changes at his cabinet’s top level.
“I believe you ought to suffer the consequences that these others have suffered,” Republican Senator Tom Coburn said. “The best way to put this behind us is your resignation.”
Firing attorneys for possible political gain does not mark the first time Republicans have questioned Gonzales’ professional acumen. From warrantless wiretapping to the USA Patriot Act, the current case might have wasted the last ounces of political capital built up by the presidential administration.
If Gonzales couldn’t remember events that occurred just a few months ago despite heavy documentation and first-hand accounts from Justice Department employees, at least one senator was left to wonder if the United States could do better in picking a replacement.
“I think anyone who’s watched this would say we could do better for attorney general,” Schumer said. “He seems to be far less qualified than the U.S. attorneys that he’s fired.”
Unfortunately for Gonzales, many Republicans also feel strongly in their conviction that he be removed. Maybe a faulty memory will actually be a valuable asset when that time comes.
—————————————Brian Bohl is a junior print journalism student. You can e-mail him at [email protected].
by Andres Soto