Gonzales faces tough questions on Hill

Gonzales faces tough questions on Hill
By Edward Luce in Washington
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: April 19 2007 21:21 | Last updated: April 20 2007 01:40


Alberto Gonzales, America’s embattled attorney-general, on Thursday resisted growing calls for his resignation but took a series of potentially fatal blows from hostile lawmakers in a much-awaited Capitol Hill hearing.

Mr Gonzales, who, along with Karl Rove, George W. Bush’s chief strategist, is one of the few remaining Texan loyalists in the administration, admitted making mistakes in the process that led to the allegedly politically motivated dismissal of eight federal attorneys last year. But he insisted that the firings were not based on “improper” motives.

Democrats allege that Mr Gonzales drew up the list of which of America’s 93 federal attorneys to fire partly on the basis of whether they were “loyal Bushies” – a term used in one of the administration e-mails that was released last month.

They also allege that some of the firings took place for partisan reasons at the behest of Mr Rove, who has refused to testify under oath and in public on Capitol Hill.

“Those eight attorneys deserved better – they deserved better from me and from the Department of Justice which they served selflessly for many years,” Mr Gonzales said on Thursday in his opening testimony to the Senate judiciary committee. “[But] while the process that led to the resignations was flawed, I firmly believe that nothing improper occurred.”

Mr Gonzales’ testimony failed to assuage senators, many of whom reiterated their calls for him to step down. “The best way to put this behind us is with your resignation,” said Tom Coburn, a Republican from Oklahoma.

Patrick Leahy, chairman of the committee, said: “The Department of Justice must not be reduced to another political arm of the White House...Today it is experiencing a crisis of leadership perhaps unrivalled in its 137-year history.”

In a testimony that many senators, including some minority Republican lawmakers, described as “less than candid”, Mr Gonzales began sentences on several dozen occasions with the phrase “I do not recall”.

During one particularly heated exchange, Arlen Specter, the ranking Republican member of the committee, referred scathingly to the attorney-general’s tendency to change his story about the extent of his involvement in the firings. Mr Gonzales, who has lost three aides to resignations in the past few weeks, told the committee that he prepared in detail for all Capitol Hill hearings.

“Do you prepare for all your press conferences?” asked Mr Specter in reference to a press conference last month in which Mr Gonzales said he had not been involved in the “deliberations” over the firings. “Senator I’ve already said that I misspoke [on that occasion], it was my mistake,” Mr Gonzales replied.

Mr Specter then said: “The reality of your characterisation of your participation is significantly, if not totally, at variance with the fact...We have to evaluate whether you are really being forthright.” Other Republicans, including Jeff Sessions from Alabama, were also critical. “Your ability to lead the Department of Justice is in question,” he said.

On Thursday there were widespread rumours about the possibility that Michael Chertoff, who heads the Department of Homeland Security, might replace Mr Gonzales if he were forced to resign.

However, a spokesman for the White House, which assigns a high value to loyalty, on Thursday reiterated that Mr Bush had full confidence in the attorney-general. Opinion polls say more than half of Americans want Mr Gonzales to resign.