Gonzales Seems to Expect More Trouble
Or at least that’s one thing we might surmise from the news that Gonzales hired George Terwilliger to represent him just after he resigned (h/t bmaz).
No sooner did Alberto Gonzales resign as attorney general last monththan he retained a high-powered Washington criminal-defense lawyer torepresent him in continuing inquiries by Congress and the JusticeDepartment.
[snip]
The top concern for Gonzales, and now Terwilliger, is the expandinginvestigation by Glenn Fine, the Justice Department’s fiercelyindependent inspector general, according to three legal sourcesfamiliar with the matter who declined to speak publicly about ongoinginvestigations. Originally, Fine’s internal Justice probe—conducted inconjunction with lawyers from the department’s Office of ProfessionalResponsibility—focused on the mass dismissal of U.S. attorneys latelast year. The investigation has since broadened to include, amongother matters, charges that Gonzales lied to Congress about the Bushadministration’s warrantless surveillance program and the circumstancessurrounding his late-night March 10, 2004, visit to the hospital roomof then attorney general John Ashcroft.
Here’s the requisite Isikoff credulity, which is (as usual) telling in and of itself.
Apparently very bad news for Fredo. And from what Terwilliger is telling Isikoff, it looks like they’re going to go directly at Fine:
â€An unbiased assessment of the facts will show that Judge Gonzales, while holding high public office during a time of great peril, worked to help maintain the safety and security of the American people and acted always with the intent and commitment to honor the rule of law.â€
Nice threat. I’m sure we’ll soon be hearing from the flying monkey brigade that Fine is a communist in league with Hillary and that he gunned down Vince Foster.
hey, this is george bush’s amurika
you could make up any kind a unbelievable shit and pawn it off as the truth
anybody heard marion jones claming she thought her steroid rub was really â€FLAXSEED OIL†???
nobody has asked marion jones why she thinks we’re stupid enough to believe that ???
sorry, I ain’t dumb enough to fall for the sorry excuse that marion jones believes she was using flaxssed oil
since when did flaxseed oil start acting like a steroid ???
it don’t make any fucking sense at all
and yet, marion jones says it with a straight face
now the press compliments marion jones for delivering a â€meaningful†apology
since when did a phony apology that continues telling the some lies that the apology is supposed to about become a â€meaningful apology ???
some people got no fucking shame
the only way these lying fucks can look themselves in the mirror is to convince themselves that we’re all as stupid as a bunch of posts
welcome to george bush’s amurika
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It hurt bad to hear Marion Jones’s confession. She was a hero to me, to girls everywhere.
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EW – let’s hope that SJC thinks that Fine will do the heavy lifting for them, and they can keep the heat on former AGAG and the rest of the gang – I thought their recent lack of energy on the USAs was a backroom deal for Mukasey’s nomination from Bush, and getting Domenici’s scalp via resignation and therefore opening up the NM Senate seat – in other words, political calculation ahead of principled investigation and oversight. I hope to be pleasantly surprised that perhaps SJC still seeks to pursue this issue.
FWIW, Marion Jones did something that was not right — but she publicly took responsibility for her actions. It is a shame that others in the public spotlight can’t learn to do that…
OT- a bit. This from TPM
Dana Jill Simpson wasn’t just worried about Rove’s involvement in Gov. Don Siegelman’s (D-AL) case. She also testified that she heard about a behind-the-scenes arrangement to ensure which judge would get the case — a judge sure to â€hang†Siegelman.
link
No ’free-styling’ for Mikey. He has to gargle and spit out exactly what they give him.
This looks like messaging from the Gonzo Camp to all the tainted downstream Loyalists:
– a criminal referral is coming, so
– lawyer up and prepare for depositions
It could be that the general template for the Defense of BushCo’s Cadre is going to be:
â€It was difficult to balance the Needs of National Security with the Rule of Law. In fact, we found ourselves Constantly Persecuted for erring on the side of National Security, even though there have been No New Attacks. And now, here I am, [Gonzo, Kyle, Monica, Sara, Alvin, etc], standing before the Court today.â€
Do I detect the foul odor of another Junya intervention here? A pardon perhaps?
radiofreewill–that template seemed to be a Goldsmith talking point on Jon Stewart–al these well meaning people have to do this difficult balancing act…
i don’t know if ig fine is looking into it,
but if i were gonzales or rove or any others in the whitehouse/doj menage a plusiers,
i would be most worried about the siegelman matter.
conspiring to send a public official to prison
and successfully doing so
is about as destructive an act of sabotage of the american judicial system as it is possible for a lawyer or judge to take.
if these guys were in on it,
and their roles uncovered,
i’m not sure even a presidential pardon would save them.
the suggestion that Fine’s investigation may be heating up may (I emphasize may) be the reason behind the seeming lackadaisical attitude from those at SJC about any ongoing investigation into the USA Purge. If they have a clear sense that Fine is going to refer this criminally, they may not need to pursue the bulk of that investigation themselves.
God I hope you’re right. Corruption begets corruption and when malfeasance passes without consequence, corruption is sure to follow.
I tend to agree that the Siegelman matter would be really really big if it blew up.
Every American understands that you don’t just send governors to jail for nothing, that of course one party would love to get rid of the other party’s guy, but that we just don’t play that way here. US Attorneys are obscure, but Governors are not. If high-level direction were ever exposed here, there would be a huge uproar and important people would go to jail, I think.
OT – but this is a master stroke. (Putin positioning to expose the new OSP)
mightymouse: these well meaning people have to do this difficult balancing act
So what? When well-meaning people screw up an important job, that doesn’t make them any less culpable. I’m sure Julius Rosernberg and Klaus Fuchs meant well. But what they did was treason to the United States, just as surely as Dick Cheney has violated his oath of office again and again .
It doesn’t matter how hard they thought about their decisions. All that matters is that they decided wrong, over and over and over.
Any defense that Gonzo and The Cabal come up with is going to a variation on the Loyalty Defense, aka The Nuremburg Defense:
â€We weren’t empowered to think in our positions, we were just following orders.
â€The performance measures of the job rewarded execution without questioning, and punished lack of results due to questioning.
â€There was no complaint channel established to redress ’wrongdoing’ and no ethics meetings to give guidance for doing anything other than following orders.
â€I saw personnel actions that I didn’t understand. It seemed like any ’unpleasantness’ that might dilute the Serve-the-Boss-with-Zeal feeling was removed.
â€I never spoke up. I just did what I was told.â€
Just like the MSM is going to claim Battered Press Syndrome for their flagrant and one-sided handjob stenography (once they feel ’safe’ from Bush’s retribution,) so also the rank and file Goopers seem poised to claim Battered Subordinates Syndrome.
In BushCo’s case, the subordinates may all be pointing their fingers ’up the chain’ at Our sitting President and saying, â€We do what he tells us to do, and that includes never talking about possible Wrongdoing – Why? Because, in BushWorld there is no Wrongdoing. All decisions emanate from Bush and only Bush, and he can never be Wrong. He can do anything he wants – who are we to question the King? His Word is Law. So, anytime we think we ’see’ Wrongdoing – that’s just supposition and conjecture, and a possible sign of Disloyalty to even be feeling that way. Why, we can’t know all that Bush knows – if a well-respected but ’lazy’ US Attorney gets replaced under highly curious circumstances – then he must have deserved it. Our job was to just do what we were told, preferably with a beaming smile.â€
â€but she publicly took responsibility for her actions. It is a shame that others in the public spotlight can’t learn to do that…â€
Jack Abramoff took responsibility for his actions, too.
Let’s not whitewash Marion Jones’ past. She vociferously denied ever taking them, and had her lawyer lash out at her former husband, accusing him of lying, and publicly suggesting he be charged with perjury. (See, e.g., http://www.newsday.com/sports/…..0302.story)
Yeah — she had a nice confession — but after publicly lying about it for years, and after the evidence against her was insurmountable. Same with Abramoff. At least Abramoff is (we all think) providing tons of evidence against others.
Just noticed this:
â€Marion Jones: Life in the Fast Lane,†her 2004 autobiography, addressed the doping allegations with a full-page denial set in oversize, red capital letters. â€I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN UNEQUIVOCAL IN MY OPINION: I AM AGAINST PERFORMANCE-ENHANCING DRUGS,†she wrote. â€I HAVE NEVER TAKEN THEM AND I NEVER WILL TAKE THEM.â€
As others in the press have written, confession and contrition are important. That applies to both Jones and Abramoff, no?
I’m just sayin…
DC Wonk: amen.
I hope that cheating bitch gets sued by anyone who ever paid her for an endorsement. I’m thinking Nike, GM, Gatorade, Kellogg, AT&T… http://findarticles.com/p/arti…..i_62918963
The only way to discourage cheating is to destroy cheaters in public. What’s the statute of limitations on fraud in TVland?
Gonzales is just making sure he doesn’t get waylaid. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and all that.
Miniscule minds like Jodi and Gonzales possess are simply not very attractive. No way [they’re getting] laid.
I still think Bush is going to get busted for the Ultimate Betrayal of Trust – Mis-use of the President’s Program.
Given a cloaked array of tools powerful enough to drill down and snoop on anything and anyone, in secret – Who thinks he mis-used it?
Who thinks Bush would use the TSP, in secret, to Grab Power for Personal Ideological Gain to Bully Evil Iraq, Bully the Evil Media and Bully his Evil Political Enemies?
Who thinks he would use the TSP to monitor the Loyal and the Disloyal alike, in secret, while claiming publicly to support the Rule of Law and Our Civil Rights?
Who thinks Bush would say â€You need a warrant to spy on a citizen†in public, while warrantlessly spying on the citizens in secret?
Who thinks Bush would say â€We do not torture†publicly, but secretly authorize the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the CIA?
It’s a duplicitous pattern of Noble Principle in Public/Depraved Perogative in Secret.
On the TSP, here’s the Noble Principle: It’s the President’s Program – Trust Me.
Depraved Perogative (in secret): Betrayal of Trust
Jodi — isn’t there a gym somewhere waiting for you to hang streamers and set up the refreshments table?
bmaz,
I forget… since Gonzales resigned, and is no longer a government official, he can not be impeached, just indicted??? Or does Congress still have some hooks in his scaley reptilian hide?
Carolly
Can still be impeached; but the remedy is limited to stripping him of any residual benefits of office such as pension, health benefits etc. and entering an order that he be barred from holding federal public office in the future.
tekel–just to clarify: I don’t think these were well-meaning people at all, but that seems to be what Goldsmith was pitching on and to Stewart–the pressure those at DOJ were under, but they’re basically good folks, according to Goldsmith.