Gonzales' testimony, redux
By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Wed Jul 25, 2007 at 05:09:05 PM EST
Gonzales reaches for the truth (Reuters)
I attended yesterday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in hope of finally hearing a truthful explanation come out of the mouth of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
Yeah, I really do know better. What the American public heard instead was vague denial, sorry excuses, and shoddy memory (though Mr. Gonzales was careful to avoid the phrase "I do not recall").
On the other hand, we did hear some sharp rebukes from the Senators asking the questions.
From Chairman Pat Leahy (D-VT): "I just don't trust you."
From ranking member Arlen Specter (R-PA): "Your credibility has been breached to the point of being actionable" and "Is your department functioning?"
From Chuck Schumer (D-NY): "How can we trust your leadership?" and "You're not being straightforward with this committee...You're deceiving us."
From Russ Feingold (D-WI): "I believe your testimony is misleading at best."
What's gotten the most attention is Gonzales' answers to questions about his visit to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft's hospital bedside seeking reauthorization of the NSA domestic spying program in 2004. Gonzales' testimony directly contradicted that of former Deputy Attorney General James Comey, and drew incredulous responses from several of the Senators at the hearing (including some of the above).
Gonzales also denied pressuring former aide Monica Goodling before her Senate testimony earlier this year. Senators dropped that line of questioning before too long, though they didn't seem satisfied with his answers. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) got in some tough questions about torture that Gonzales skirted around.
And then there was the off-topic crowd...from Sen. John Kyl (R-AZ) we got questions about, inexplicably, internet gambling; Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) asked about illegal immigration, and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) wanted to know about contracting in Iraq. Throughout the entire hearing, Gonzales never seemed quite as happy as when he was answering the questions about online gaming.
A few last thoughts on things I learned yesterday: 1) the Attorney General doesn't deem cases in which he personally ask for the death penalty important enough to remember; 2) Arlen Specter, a former District Attorney, thinks this is either bunk or a disgrace, or both; 3) Don't get on Specter's bad side; 4) or Schumer's - neither of them are happy when their questions go unanswered; and 5) I never ever ever want to give Pat Leahy cause to say "I'm disappointed" to me. He was scary.
Share your thoughts or comments below.
Tags: Alberto Gonzales, US Attorneys, Ethics in Government, Pat Leahy, Arlen Specter, Charles Schumer (all tags)
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