More Emails Sink Alberto Gonzales
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in General Politics, Law
The following is pretty astonishing. And I’m not talking about the White House’s involvement in the attorney firings from the beginning.
Ready? Go.
March 19, 2007â€â€? New e-mails released this evening by the Justice Department reveal the depth of White House involvement in the discussions to fire eight U.S. attorneys last year. The thousands of pages of e-mails suggest the White House was involved in the plan from the beginning.The e-mails detail conversations about attorneys targeted for dismissal. There are no e-mails from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who reportedly does not use e-mail, though the Justice Department says messages show some indication that Gonzales’ former chief of staff, D. Kyle Sampson, kept the attorney general apprised.
…”who reportedly does not use e-mail.”
I’m sorry, what? The Attorney General of the United States doesn’t use email? That certainly instills a lot of confidence…
In other news, it looks like the White House is already searching for his replacement…
Republican officials operating at the behest of the White House have begun seeking a possible successor to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, whose support among GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill has collapsed, according to party sources familiar with the discussions.Among the names floated Monday by administration officials are Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and White House anti-terrorism coordinator Frances Townsend. Former Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson is a White House prospect. So is former solicitor general Theodore B. Olson, but sources were unsure whether he would want the job.
After Chertoff screwed up so badly with Katrina, I doubt it’ll be him. Olson would be an interesting choice. Not sure about the other two.
And supposedly, more blood will be shed…
Republican sources also disclosed that it is now a virtual certainty that Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty, whose incomplete and inaccurate congressional testimony about the prosecutors helped precipitate the crisis, will also resign shortly. Officials were debating whether Gonzales and McNulty should depart at the same time or whether McNulty should go a day or two after Gonzales.
More as it develops.
This entry was posted on Monday, March 19th, 2007 and is filed under General Politics, Law. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
March 19th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
I am no defender of the AG; he’s a total hack. But on the other hand it appears, under the circumstances, to have been a good idea for him not to use email. Unfortunately for him the truth is coming out anyway.
http://www.homesteadbook.com/blog
March 19th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
With a choice of fax or telephone, why should Gonzales use email? Email has more security problems than the other 2 methods. The emails are a good thing for us, exposing the horse hockey the Admin & AG were throwing at us. Not so good for Alberto, however.
It also appears that we will not have an AG for awhile unless Bush appoints one the Senate can readily agree upon.
I wonder if they are still taping conversations in the Oval Office . . .
March 20th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
See a tongue-in-cheek visual of Alberto & Karl starring in the new White House presentation of “Justice Is Served”…here:
http://www.thoughttheater.com
March 20th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
I doubt if Ted Olsen would take on the added responsibility. His wife was in one of the planes that flew into the World Trade Center on 9/11. He does not need to be AG.