Goodling News Is Bad News For Gonzales?

Posted: Thursday, April 12, 2007 5:59 PM by Chuck Todd

From NBC’s Mike Viqueira
The House Judiciary Committee is "strongly considering" offering former DoJ official Monica Goodling immunity in exchange for her testimony in the U.S. Attorney matter, according to one very solid congressional source.

Goodling had preemptively asserted her Fifth Amendment rights and has declined to be interviewed or to testify before Congress. Last week Goodling's lawyer exchanged sharply worded letters with House Judiciary over her refusal to testify and over whether or not she had rightfully invoked the Fifth.

Per Pete Williams, Goodling's attorney, John Dowd, has no comment on the immunity question.

As a reminder, Goodling has resigned from DoJ.

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Comments

Great pun, Mike!

JIrby, Colorado Springs (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 6:06 PM)

Sing Monica, sing!!!!

Susan, Nebraska (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 6:37 PM)

Well . . . it was a pun. Good maybe, but great? A great pun is Bill Hicks talking about JFK and Castro - "Pigeons were overheard saying, "Coup! Coup!".

Todd, New Orleans, LA (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 7:19 PM)

Preemptively asserting 5th amendment rights? Is there even such a thing? (hint: no.) I can foresee this will be a great joke in law circles a few years from now.

K Lin, Pasadena, CA (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 7:33 PM)

SO if she testifies and there is nothing in the testimony that justifies her invocing the 5th Ammendment is she then subject to prosecution for obstruction of justice? I'd be wording that grant of immunity very carefully.

TMehrens, San Jose, CA (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 7:53 PM)

NO one in the bush administration should get a free pass. send bush and all his people to jail.

Ken e (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 8:06 PM)

What? So if I screw-up I can just hire a lawyer to say I don't want to talk about it and go home? Terrific! Wow ... what a great country. Maybe I'll get a gang together steal a couple of elections and become president.

Gonnuts, New Orleans, LA. (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 8:08 PM)

Rosemary Woods, where are you??? The dog ate my homework!

Charles J. Collet (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 8:08 PM)

Excellent headline - even better than APs: "Leahy doubts Bush aides on lost e-mails" First good news in 6 years.

Gearorge Millhouse (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 8:18 PM)

Didn't they learn anything from Ollie North. Issue her a freaking subpoena and let her take the 5th. Then they cite her for contempt of congress.

greyhawk (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 8:26 PM)

We should not be issuing "keep out jail free" cards. Those usually result in a lot of headlines and expended wind but no one being held responsible. Yes I am still bitter about Iran-Contra and Ollie North and company escaping justice. Besides I keep hearing from the neocon bloggers that no crimes were committed so what is there to issue immunity from?

Russell in Maryland (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 9:07 PM)

Is it me or has anyone else noticed it takes a Monica to take down an admistration

John Marshall, Columbus, Ohio (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 9:42 PM)

Actually, this may indicate that her original position on taking the 5th - which, after all, doesn't apply to perjury in advance - was a smoke signal that she has lots and lots to talk about. If so, it's a pretty smart move on her lawyer's part. And as long as the immunity depends on her singing like a bird - no "I don't recall", no obfuscation - it might be a very smart deal for Congressional investigators to give it to her.

JT (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 10:09 PM)

If all public servants, and Monica was one of them, would refuse to answer questions from congressional oversight committees, there would be no oversight possible. I am saddened that congress considers giving her immunity. If you serve you must sing and if you do not understand that find another line of employment. I am saddened because immunity would increasingly pervert the task of my watchdog, the congress.

Dieter Heymann, Houston, Texas (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 10:10 PM)

She was apparently one of the prime movers in this purge of 8 US Attorneys. She CANNOT preemptively take the Fifth Amendment and then go home, scott free. She is a born again 'Bushie" coming out of an evangelical college and law school. God is on her side as it is for most of this Administration. Issue her a subpoena and allow her to not answer questions. Tell her lawyer "To go f**k himself" The American people have a right to get to the bottom of this fiasco.

S.F. Wilson (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 10:12 PM)

She is a small fish in a very large pond. Grant her immunity to get at the REAL culprits for once. This Administration is too adept at blocking investigations. & In process offering up the "sacrificial" peons. The enlisted soldiers prosecutions for the Abu-Graib horror strikes me as the worst example of their ruthlessness in this arena to date. Grant her immunity- hope she sings loud enough to bring the house down!!

Deborah T. Georgiton, Columbus, Ohio (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 10:29 PM)

Have you noticed that the graduates from the southern evangelical colleges are totaly devoid of any understanding of our constitutional rights, ethical clarity or an ability to distinguish the difference between their religious beliefs and Republican party dogma? Scary. They are the personification of the word "brainwashed".

Gail, Novato, California (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 11:00 PM)

No immunity - it doesn't mean she'll tell the truth anyway. Don't talk? Throw her to the wolfs - throw her in jail

gil martin,chicago,il (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 11:02 PM)

Gail, Novato, California (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 11:03 PM)

There is another alternative. It is called "direct contempt." Basically, the game plan would be to call her to testify, and if she refuses, then have the sergeant at arms arrest her. She would then have to prove that she has a well founded fear of prosecution. The argument that she is afraid that a partisan committee will prosecute her doesn't fly. It was rejected in a case involving Susan McDougal.

Big Mitch, Anchorage, Alaska (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 11:05 PM)

Next, we will have Fred Fielding saying that Bush can't be impeached by Congress because he has "executive privilege"

Arn Gunnutes (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 11:07 PM)

Congress should drag "Bonzo" and all of his fellow criminals before them and depose them and listen as they knock each other over trying to rat out each other. This whole Bush Administration is the worst political/industial/and monetary tragedy that the U.S.A. has ever suffered. I am so ashamed that Bush and his administration/gang are unfortunately Americans. It is tragic what they are and what they have done to America and the American people.

Jaime Garcia, Seattle, WA (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 11:23 PM)

Jaime Garcia, Seattle, WA (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 11:24 PM)

Geyhawk, then she can get her own show on Fox News.

Jane, Southern Mississippi (Sent Thursday, April 12, 2007 11:52 PM)

I'm reading Joan Mellen's book, A Farewell to Justice, and she quotes Jim Garrison, "In Washington, the failure to tell the whole truth is not considered to be an offense." How appropriate.

Jane, Southern Mississippi (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 12:32 AM)

Gonnuts - If I say I think I can justify it (your campaign strategy) by precedent, can I be your AG?

Lee "You can make it if you try" in MV (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 12:32 AM)

Talk about synchronicity - two different white houses, two different Monicas.

John in Illinois (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 12:33 AM)

Issue a subpoena and then let her take the fifth before the Congress, the media and everyone can clearly see the coruption in the DoJ.

Grace Morris, Rio Linda, CA (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 1:21 AM)

OK, I'll ask: What IS it with Republican Christians and the truth? Is it that scary to them? Is it a group delusion of grandeur? What IS IT with these people?

mommadona, Ben Lomond, CA (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 2:05 AM)

I say bring her in and start the show. It's a full-blown circus atmosphere that nobody in their right mind would want any part of. Ask good questions. Make her repeat the phrase "it would tend to incriminate me" over an over. That's plenty of reason to suspect crimes have been committed and proceed from there. If needed, bring her back with immunity later. She'll have to explain. -- Not sure about contempt. That would just be referred to the DoJ.

Willie, Auburn, CA (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 3:42 AM)

What next, you give impunity to Bush if he denounces Cheney and Rove? you're living in a very strange country guys.

Noura Yom (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 5:23 AM)

Ms. Goodling has an absolute right to invoke the Fifth Amendment. It would be illegal for anyone to throw her in jail for doing so. After the Libby matter, it is obvious that if her recollection were to differ from someone else's, perhaps some reporter's, she might be prosecuted for lying-- perhaps successfully. She may have no real information to add to what is already known. But she is properly and wisely invoking the Fifth in this preposterously political climate to protect herself. It would be nice if Democrats and some Republicans in Congress would shelve the vitriol and get on addressing the real problems of the nation, a task for which they are far more handsomely paid than most of us.

Pete Farris, St. Michaels, MD (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 7:22 AM)

Sorry, Mr. Farris, but "the real problems of the nation" very much include the way the DoJ has been corrupted and abused to assist in Republican political entrenchment, which is just one instance of the way in which the Bush Administration has deprofessionalized and cronyized the bureaucratic "Fourth Branch." In case you didn't catch it, the DoJ's efforts to take on so-called voter fraud over the last six years, which have been aimed by a 4:1 margin at Democrats and timed to skew elections, have essentially turned up nothing, a handful of piffle. In other words, they made the issue up in order to skew elections, to confuse and intimidate voters. Further, the man at the head of the DoJ is one of the leading characters in America's current and deeply damaging embrace of torture and our estrangement from the Geneva Conventions, to which we are signatories. The problems being surfaced and addressed by the investigations into the US Attorney firings (and those not fired) are, indeed, "real problems of the nation." And as for Ms. Goodling's right to assert the Fifth, it is unprecedented to take the Fifth to avoid committing a crime (perjury), rather than to avoid divulging one's past involvment in criminal activity. Further, by all accounts she was close to the center of the activities surrounding the attorney firings. She has no special right not to testify before Congress. Fear of lying does not absolve her of her obligation to testify when called.

Patrick E. Snyder, Coral Springs, FL (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 8:30 AM)

Can you take The Fifth for something you MIGHT do but HAVEN'T YET done (such as perjury)?

Hal Toomer, San Diego, CA (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 8:59 AM)

"She's Come Undone"-The Guess Who

Still Crazy After All these Years (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 9:08 AM)

It's time to put a bullet in the head of this story. Talk about beating a dead horse. Enough already.

Peeps (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 9:53 AM)

How fitting that Bush has his own Monica to deal with. I wonder if this Monica will lead to impeachment or even indictment of Bush and his clan?

Nick, Ohio (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 10:03 AM)

By all means, suppress the truth. Standard bush administration operating procedure.

Scott in South Texas (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 10:26 AM)

Since no one has mentioned this, I will. As soon as one person in the administration has immunity, that becomes the person who takes all the blame. She came up with the idea, did the firing, erased the emails from Rove's computer, all without the consent or knowledge of the AG or Rove. In the past this person would have just taken the heat and gotten a pardon followed by a national radio show (Ollie North), but GWB has indicated that Libby won't get a pardon, and the way GWB betrays his loyal Bushies, that may be the case. She shouldn't get immunity -- contempt of Congress is a good enough reason to toss her in jail.

Craig Bloomfield (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 10:38 AM)

You're right, Peeps. It's time to get off the horse and move to the related matters of Obstruction of Justice, violation of the Hatch Act by misusing government office to further the political agenda of the GOP, conducting White House business on a private email system to circumvent the Presidential Records Act, and any other crimes that might be hiding in those emails.

John B, Des Moines, IA (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 10:44 AM)

These two Monicas are very different; one opened her mouth in a loyal gesture to her President and one refuses to. What a perfect metaphor for comparison of the Clinton and Bush Administrations.

Robert Catalano, Salem, OR (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 10:51 AM)

What an opportune moment for Congress to reactivate the special prosecutor's law and appoint Patrick Fitzgerald as the new Archibald Cox. How in the world can the current DOJ play any credible role in an investigation of itself or others in the administration? That would at least move everything slightly out of the realm of pure politics and give it a judicial framework.

Tom Dunn, Central Square, NY (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 11:13 AM)

A lot of non-lawyers here. The first thing you learn in law school is that lawyering has nothing to do with justice; it's all about the practice of law. Monica is merely practicing law in invoking the fifth. She has every right to, Congress be damned. Congress is not a coterie of "more equal" citizens.

Scott LeTourneau, Newfield, NY (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 12:08 PM)

Scott LeTourneau, Newfield, NY (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 12:10 PM)

I wonder if Peeps said the same thing when the GOP was so very interested in Clinton's sex life. Somehow I think not.

Carrie, NW Iowa (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 12:14 PM)

Robert Catalano....Wow, that is an incredible statement. I am in awe. Thank you.

Ken, MN (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 12:19 PM)

Scott LeTourneau, you and I went to very different law schools.

Scott in South Texas (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 1:00 PM)

Actually, Carrie, I did. I never slammed Clinton for getting a little "sumpin', sumpin'" on the side -that was his business - after all, he is married to Hillary. Who could blame him. But Clinton actually did lie - and was impeached for it. Remember?

Peeps (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 1:08 PM)

I remember what the press was focused on in the summer of 2001. The press was focused on Gary Conditt and whether or not he killed an intern. They were also focused on the number of sharks attacks in Florida. I also know that the Republican Congesss critized President Clinton for his attack on a pharmeacutical company in Sudan and for another attack in Afhganistan.But what do I know.And oh yes, September 11, 2001, happened under a Republican President and withRepublicans controlled byCongress.So, Mr President, with all due respect, where is bin Laden?

Desmond (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 2:11 PM)

Peeps - Of course I remember that. Of course, I also think it was completely inappropriate for him to be questioned about his sex life under oath. What exactly did that have to do with the investigation? Oh right...nothing.

Carrie, NW Iowa (Sent Friday, April 13, 2007 2:37 PM)

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