Gonzales under fire

Posted: Friday, March 30, 2007 9:22 AM by Mark Murray
Filed Under: White House, Congress

The Los Angeles Times says Sampson's testimony "could be a major blow to Gonzales, who is struggling to hold on to his job in the face of growing criticism from Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill"

The New York Times adds that the White House repeated its support of Gonzales yesterday, “while acknowledging disappointment with [his] handling of the dismissals. ‘The attorney general has some work to do up on Capitol Hill,’ said Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman, adding that President Bush “wasn’t satisfied with incomplete or inconsistent information being provided to Capitol Hill.”

Fired Arkansas US attorney Bud Cummins spoke out yesterday at the University of Arkansas, where he said Gonzales was remiss for not placing a ‘firewall’ between politics and the work of the Justice Department.

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Comments

"Problems, Problems"-Everly Brothers

Still Crazy After All These Years (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 9:33 AM)

Another cog in the wheels of decit in the Bush Administration. Can there possibly have been an administration that has been more scandalous?

Ravine Force (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 9:56 AM)

Looks like Sampson is also not willing to go quietly, since he dropped prosecutor Fitzgerald's name in testimony yesterday. Also the White House business being done over RNC email addresses so as to hide it from public scrutiny should prompt a whole bunch of congressional curiosity. Ironic that it was the governor of TX in the musical "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" who sang "Ooh, I Like to Dance a Little Sidestep".

John B, Des Moines, IA (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 10:09 AM)

Did you know Sampson, Gonzales' chief of staff, graduated from law school in 1999? He has tried one civil and one criminal case in his whole career. The guy is like 33. And he was in charge of firing U.S. Attorneys? What is up with this theme in the White House of choosing unqualified staffers for positions of authority?

Amy B Portland, ME (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 10:18 AM)

Amy, the only question on his application was his position on Roe v. Wade.

Scott in South Texas (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 10:32 AM)

Pan tostado, senõr, pan tostado...

R.Merrell (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 10:35 AM)

"Some Heads Are Gonna Roll"- (Judas Priest)

M.E., Albany, Ga. (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 10:40 AM)

Amy- The "unqualified staffers" had "unqualified" administration choosing them. By hand selecting the inexperienced, they could "snatch them up right" according to their standards. They are more easily impressed, and kow-tow when asked. What better choice for a puppeteer? You can bet their was a "good-ole-boy" recommendation for his hiring. Where is he from?

M.E., Albany, Ga. (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 10:52 AM)

oops. I wouldn't make a very good reporter. I was repeating something I heard this moring on talk radio. Sampson actually graduated in 1993 from law school and is 38 years old. Thank you Ryan in MI, where ever you are, for teaching me to check my sources. Googling turned up this interesting fact, however: The Salt Lake Tribune reported that he "drew on a friendship he had built in law school with Elizabeth Cheney, the daughter of the vice president, to land a job." Cheney is behind everything, as usual!http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070329/29sampsonfacts.htm

Amy B Portland, ME (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 10:53 AM)

Amy, If you take a young person, just out of school, give them a good job, along with praise, and raises, you develop an employee that is loyal to a degree that would be impossible with an older more experienced person. This is a tactic often used by corporations to build their staff. One weak point to this is that at the end of their tenure to Bush&company is that these people will have a hard time fitting into the real world work environment.

blacksheep, Pope County, Ar. (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 10:57 AM)

It is pretty obvious that Gonzales is finished, cosidering yesterday's testimony and the lack of White House support. If Bush has any political sense he needs to look at someone of unquestionable integrity such as John Danforth for a replacement. The office is much too important to be turned over to another crony. It just seems at this point that any honorable person would have doubts about jumping on this sinking ship.

Bob, Orlando (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 11:01 AM)

Amy B. It's called nepotism

Susan, Nebraska (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 11:38 AM)

Well I guess that backfired on them yesterday didn't it blacksheep since he rolled over on Gonzales in regards to statements he made at his press conference not being true. Sampson should get himself a T-shirt that states. . . not scooters cell mate!!!

Susan, Nebraska (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 11:41 AM)

Firewall? Everything this Administration does is Political, from the War, right down to the Laws we have to live under while they don't. The Department of Justice should be called Department of Just Them. Another stripped gear in the Transmission of Infamy.

Steve Turner Cedar Falls Iowa (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 11:49 AM)

Let's run the totals Rumsfield's, let go by the President, Mier's forced out, Scooter out for doing whatever Cheney wanted. Gonzales is on his way he is just pro-longing the inevitable, he fired Sampson for doing his job, when he should have resigned!!! When will this insanity end? OH! I know when the "Decider" is back on the ranch.

Ivory (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 12:02 PM)

Amy, you had the right information, just the wrong staffer. Monica Goodling, the staffer who has refused to testify, graduated from Messiah College in 1995 and receieved a law degree from Regent University (America's preeminent Christian university, according to their website) in 1999. So you are on the right track. This fact also supports Scott in Texas' statement that one's position on Roe v. Wade may carry more weight in this administration's Dept. of Justice than any other "qualification".

Bob, Orlando (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 12:07 PM)

We need an AG like Reno who spent all her time going after Bill Gates instead of say something trivial like UBL & Al Queada. When she wasn't running over Americans with tanks, or kid napping Cuban children for the off shore caucus of the democrat party.

Mocking (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 12:10 PM)

Cheney "nepotism"- Isn't little Liz's husband the general counsel for the Department of Homeland Scarcity? Phillip Perry.

M.E., Albany, Ga. (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 12:13 PM)

This seems so simple to me, but of course nothing in DC is ever simple. IF(and notice that's a BIG IF)there was nothing improper about the firings this whole thing could be settled rather easily. All Gonzales needs to do is step in front of a microphone and run down the list, individually explaining why each prosecutor was fired. Simple. Not doing so suggests impropriety, even if there is none. Perception is, as they say, reality.

Darren Pope, MB, SC (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 12:15 PM)

These silly children (Monica and Kyle and whoever else is over there). These thirty somethings prancing around the White House and Justice department with their heady assignment of passing judgement on sage, A-team prosecutors - they simply look so completely foolish now. How naive can you get? Did they really think they were qualified to judge our United States Prosecutors' performance? These kids are wet-behind-the-ears suck ups that have no idea what they're doing or how the real world works. I almost feel sorry for them. How utterly embarrassing for all of us. We need a heavy hitter to clean up the Justice Department yesterday - wonder if Patrick Fitzgerald would be interested in the AG's job, I hear that's coming available soon.

Nancy, Orlando (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 12:17 PM)

"Equality under the law" to BushCo must sound like "Screwing for virginty" sounds to any functioning intellect. To BushCo, the law is just a tool to be used against your opponents. A drunken circus monkey could set a better example. Selectively applying the law is no better ignoring it entirely, and ignore is what they do regarding environmental laws. I know Gonzales had has right hand on a Bible when he swore to God to uphold and protect the Constitution - anyone notice what he was doing with his left?

Lee Steele (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 12:17 PM)

Do you know what I know? Your money and your wealth, you silence just to hear your self. Do you want what I want? Desire not a thing, I hunger after independence, lengthen freedoms ring.- Metallica

Darren Pope, MB, SC (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 12:19 PM)

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is the address for the Republican National Committee, folks. The only purpose of any who work in that building is to ensure political survival of only the extreme right wingers in the Republican Party. Once one accepts this theory as fact, everything else this administration does, tries to do or tries to cover up makes sense and I suspect we will be uncovering the deliberate dismanteling of our government's agencies and infrastruction for years. Defense, Justice, State, Education -- where else should we look? Smoke and mirrors and slight of hand, shame on every person who bought this bill of goods again in 2000 and again in 2004.

Nancy, Orlando (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 12:25 PM)

Susan, What you say might be true, but you need to realize that the AG is expendable, I'm not sure that all of the information that Sampson gave was completely accurate, Think for a moment about some of his answers. If his memory was good enough that he did not need to keep a file of the AAG,s and their performance, then why was it so poor on matters such as who gave him what information and such. Something does not seem right about some of his testimony. Is he protecting a bigger fish than the AG?

blacksheep, Pope County, Ar. (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 12:32 PM)

Once I learned that Ms. Goodling had received her law degree from pat robertson U. aka regent univeristy...it became very apparent to me why she would take the 5th, rather than tell the truth to Congress. I guess being a graduate of "America's preeminent Christian university" does not promote being truthful, rather than hiding behind the 5th Amendment...to avoid being truthful. The more I observe the actions of these "evangelical" christians...the more I am convinced, that in fact they are the antithesis of the teachings of Christ.

Coy Reese, Shady Spring, West Virginia (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 12:35 PM)

Darren Pope: Never thought you would be one to quote Metallica !! Gave me a laugh that I needed. No rant, just a good quote. Thank you sir.

Ken, MN (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 12:55 PM)

Would Jesus take the fifth?

Zoo Keeper (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 1:04 PM)

Mocking==You do not think the Cuban kid should have been returned to his biological father? Why did Bush 41 and Reagan not go after UBL and Al-Queada?

Seattle Sue (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 1:18 PM)

Darren, you are correct. The administration had the right to replace all 93 attorneys if they wished. It is the fact that Gonzales stated that he was not involved, since contradicted under oath by his former Chief of Staff, along with his general failure to be upfront about the issue that seems to be his undoing.

Bob, Orlando (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 1:21 PM)

Durwood Pope: In your post at 12:15 you state that all the AG needs to do is on record and run down the list of removed AAG's and give the reason they were removed. The only problem with that is two fold, first, are you sure he know why they were removed? Second, would he be opening a can of worms that he would be well advised to not open? Do you or I know the real reason that any of them were removed? I really doubt it, and it is unlikely that we ever will!

blacksheep, Pope County, Ar. (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 1:39 PM)

"My Sweet Lord"--Chocolate Jesus that has lots of people upset. Also a good song by George Harrison.

Dorothy (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 1:44 PM)

Gonzales will step down when every democrat who ever lied in front of a TV camera steps down.

Still Mocking (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 2:18 PM)

From The New Republic: "U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president. But, until now, presidents almost never fired prosecutors they appointed in the middle of their terms--perhaps only two of the 486 appointed in the last 25 years have been canned in this fashion. This is in part because presidents from both parties have implicitly conceded that these attorneys have a higher loyalty to the law than to political patrons..." Guess the new sheriff doesn't hold to that same belief.

Robb, STL (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 2:43 PM)

I wonder if there could be any more rotten apples in that barrel? This may be just some kind of unfortunate coincidence. You wouldn't think such a straight shooter like Bush would make the same kind of mistake twice. Still, we all know that with Bush, what you see ain't what you get. If you want to know what's on his mind, you watch his feet. So, just in case, we might better hook up Cheney, Rove and a few other usual suspects to lie detectors for eight hours a day for the next twenty years. It wouldn't hurt just to be on the safe side. We also need to look into the Harken and Arbusto Energy outfits. I know Bush has said that everything has been looked into there. That's why we better look.

JIrby, Colorado Springs (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 3:04 PM)

Questions about the forced resignations began late last year, when people noticed that seven U.S. attorneys had been fired on one day — Dec. 7, or Pearl Harbor Day (talk about bad PR). They were shown the door at the end of their four-year terms even though they were expecting to serve into the second term (as their colleagues were doing). from NPR http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9030022 They were Bush appointees. The fact that their 4 year terms don't correspond with his own means he didn't clean house like Clinton did when he first came into office.

Dave, still mocking in Tn (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 3:29 PM)

AGREED 100% blacksheep

Susan, Nebraska (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 3:30 PM)

"Gonzales will step down when every democrat who ever lied in front of a TV camera steps down." That's right! Then every participant of the Tea Pot Dome Scandle, then we look into what Democrats were involved in the USS Maine explosion, then we impeach Bill Clinton again, and THEN we consider what might be going on right now.

New American Facsist (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 3:30 PM)

OK Seattle Sue, even if you believe Elian Gonzales should have been returned to his father, sending in men with automatic rifles is NOT the way to do it. It was grand standing at its best. I have to say again, DO NOT support someone just because they are a Democrat or Republican, but on their merit. I personally dont believe Janet Reno deserves to be commended for anything.

Susan, Nebraska (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 3:35 PM)

I love it how lefties like to talk to themselves and draw conclusions on everything from soup to nuts.But that's about all your blather amounts to,soup and "nuts".Most of you only want to be validated in your uneducated rantings by your fellow nits.So you post your childish drivel to make you "feel" important.Feelings being the optimum word in lefty circles.I have a question for the 99pct of you on here of whom I speak?Do any of you know anything about the seperation of powers or the constitution of The United States, especially dealing with the fireings of the 8 incompetent attornies (who served at the pleasure of this president)? Apparently not, or you wouldn't be making such fools of yourselves to those few of us on here who in fact do know how our gov.and Constitution works. Just look at the gobbledy-goop you're spewing?All BS based on how you "feel"and not reality.This president, just as any past president, has a right to decide who goes and who stays within "his"justice dept.Just as your hero King Bill Clinton did! Not one of you has advanced a sane argument to the contrary regarding this case.Unless you consider namecalling and lefty vitriol against this president and Mr.Gonzalez"advancing the argument"?I carry a copy of the Constitution in my pocket.And I gloss over it at least once a week.You beauties ought to try it sometime? At least then your discussions would/may make some sense?Here's what I see: a lot of silly little arguments that don't amount to a hill of beans other then to see your names and drivel in print.Polishing one and others apples is not a discussion.It's living vicariously through the electronic media and thinking that you actually know of what you speak!Beam me up Scotty!!

seano (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 3:40 PM)

"No one knows what goes on behind closed doors"-Behind Closed doors-Kenny Rogers

Still Crazy After All These Years (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 3:48 PM)

I thought the Usual Suspects was Desmond and co. They let Cheney and Rove in RUTUS?

Robb, STL (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 4:32 PM)

seano. . . wrong o. . . its not that the "nutty lefties" have failed to come up with an argument it's that you refuse to acknowledge it. YES, CLINTON REMOVED 93 JUDGES WHEN HE TOOK OFFICE. No he did not fire them mid term, and no he did not fire them after they refused to indict democrats and go light on republicans when they were leaned on. One of them sighted as being "incompetant" was the judge in the Scooter Libby trial. They were going to remove him in 2005 but were afraid it would look too damning if they did that. Another point, BIll Clinton Didn't lie about it, or his motives, or knowing about it, or who did know about it, or who was involved. NEWS FLASH SEANO. . . BIll Clinton is NOT responsible for why you are so miserable and why you hate the majority of the population that think GWB is a blooming idiot and a crook and a war criminal. Now go ahead and jump all over me without an argument but with excessive name calling. I am ready, I can handle it. Have a great day!

Susan, Nebraska (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 4:34 PM)

Hi Seano: I've no doubt Gonzales carries a copy of the constitution around with him: Bathrooms sometimes run out of toilet paper.

Raul (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 4:42 PM)

Carrying a government document in his pocket! Hmm ..Must be Sandy B.

Flat-earther, Georgia (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 4:43 PM)

Hi Seano: I've no doubt Gonzales carries a copy of the constitution around with him: Bathrooms sometimes run out of toilet paper.

Raul (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 4:45 PM)

Amy - thanks for the reference in your post. You are definitley one of the more rational and seemingly intelligent people that regularly post here. I haven't been posting as much recently because work is keeping me very busy for most of the day and my one year old twins keep me busy when I'm not working but I'm still out here and I read many of the threads but I don't usually have the time to post. Thanks again.

Ryan, Michigan (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 4:47 PM)

Seano - While executive branch employees do serve at the pleasure of the president, the judicial system is not meant to be controlled by political agendas. It is meant to be controlled by the legal principles upon which this country was founded, not by an egomaniacal president's personal policy goals. By the way, since you are so smart, I'm sure you can figure out how to run spell check before submitting a post that makes your own highly touted intelligence seem exaggerated.

Carrie, NW Iowa (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 4:57 PM)

Well I guess he told us. I am truly humbled by his superior analytical acumen, not to mention his political, constitutional and psycho-social rationalistic expertise. Nevertheless, an appropriate response: "Oh Yeah?" And don't call me Scotty.

Scott in South Texas (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 5:00 PM)

Nancy in Orlando, Thank goodness there is some one else in this town with common sense. Good to know you are here!

Bob, Orlando (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 5:05 PM)

I've no doubt Speedy Gonzales carries a copy of the US constitution with him, as seano says: Bathrooms sometimes run out of toilet paper.

Raul Walters St Paul MN (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 5:14 PM)

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