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TechnoratiEven Now, Gonzales Leaves a Mess to Clean Up
Alberto Gonzales departed Friday from the job of attorney general of the United States, and we doubt if anyone will really miss him.
Gonzales tried to focus on the positive on his way out the door, but in truth nothing good he might have done in office outweighs his spectacular failures. They will leave a stain on the office of the attorney general, and Gonzales' career should serve as a cautionary tale for future attorneys general and political appointees of all stripes.
In an administration chock full of untalented, unprincipled amateurs, Gonzales may take the cake. His willingness to place loyalty to the president above his duty to the nation has placed a stain on the reputation of the Department of Justice that may take years to scrub out.
Sadly, Gonzales may be gone, but he will not be forgotten. The scandal that developed over how Justice hired and fired U.S. attorneys under Gonzales has raised huge questions about the overall integrity of this critically important federal agency. The questions may be particularly acute in an odd case emerging from the South.
The U.S. attorney in Alabama prosecuted former Gov. Don Siegelman on corruption charges, won and Siegelman went to jail. From a distance, Siegelman's crime seems a strange one. He appointed one of his campaign contributors to a public commission, which on the face of it, would seen a routine transaction.
But now a Republican operative and lawyer named Jill Simpson claims to have heard some Alabama Republican heavyweights plotting to use the U.S. attorney's office to get Siegelman, and thus remove a powerful political opponent. Simpson will be talking to congressional investigators and, so far, the Department of Justice has stonewalled congressional efforts to obtain many of its documents on the Siegelman case.
The department is arguing, it would seem, that congressional oversight has a chilling effect on behind-the-scenes frankness among its employees. It's true that this administration hasn't seen much oversight, but it ought to get used to it. And to the idea that Congress is a coequal branch of government.
The Siegelman case is routine political back-and-forth, you say? Not really. In this nation, lawyers who work for the public cannot use their power to help settle political scores. It is clear enough, though, that under Gonzales, not everybody in the Justice Department thought that way.
It takes more than a prosecutor to put someone in jail, of course, and there is every chance that the former governor belongs where he wound up. But it's a measure of just how much damage Gonzales and his president have done to the public's trust that questions like this come up, and the rest of us have no choice except to consider them seriously. Congress needs to get to the bottom of the Siegelman case and soon.
© 2007 Oregon Live LLC
10 Comments so far
Show AllHey Pod!You are spot on.John Ashcroft made to look good with odious comparison to Gonzales.With this downward projectory how bad can it get?
"The U.S. attorney in Alabama prosecuted former Gov. Don Siegelman on corruption charges, won and Siegelman went to jail. From a distance, Siegelman's crime seems a strange one. He appointed one of his campaign contributors to a public commission, which on the face of it, would seen a routine transaction."
Didn't Dick Cheney appoint campaign-contributing CEOs from the largest oil companies on the planet to participate in his "secretive" Energy Task Force? These participants may not have received direct payment for their commission, but is there any doubt they got paid indirectly for their participation in establishing energy policy and procedures for the U.S.?
In the history of this country, oil companies and their CEOs have never seen such unprecedented profits generated to their shareholders or themselves! And Siegelman went to jail on corruption charges????
RoundAbout - man you are lost!! Do you think the Aristocrats who run the UN are going to give any more of shit about you than the Aristocrats who run DC? People - please wakwe up and remember that there has never been a single right or freedonm granted to any one in AMerica by our government. The Constitution was put together by a group of rebels, once they formed the government only some people had rights...
If Americans want to change anything like the direction we are spinning as we go down the drain of history's failed Republics, they had better get off the couch and do something. It's like someone has kicked in the front door, is raping your wife and you get up and grab a sandwich from the fridge and return to the game. Guess who's next?
What more can you say about someone who actually made John Ashcroft look good?
Gonzales' smirk throughout his questioning was the saddest display of outright, unmitigated scorn for the nation that he was working for that I have ever seen. I still cannot understand why his maneuvers did not infuriate any congressional person to actually 'lose it.' Somebody needed to give him a good, really good reprimand that would have had a more lasting effect. Instead they got the proverbial finger. The highest official office in the land to lead the rest of the country in straightforward justice was totally dissolved under their watch.
It's not too late to impeach the little toady! Let the trials begin!
gonzales who?
I cannot recall any Attorny General by that name
DOJ is not the only mess. The DOD and DHS could not even pass basic audits of their accounting books. They failed all areas of the audit! Here is an idea: instead of pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into these fraudulent, wasteful-spending departments, and screwing over the taxpayer, ABOLISH THE DEPARTMENTS!!
Time is running out. The UN, though it's very far from perfect, is about the only thing left to try.
Taking to the streets, peacefully or violently makes no difference, will only get us: The National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive, signed on May 9, 2007, would place all governmental power in the hands of the President and effectively abolish the checks and balances in the Constitution.
Petitioning our "government" is an exercise in futility.
It's time to ask for help. http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/unsanam2
When there are enough signatures I will hand deliver it to the UN myself if I'm not disappeared by DHS first.
PLEASE HELP!
Oh, c'mon. You shouldn't speak ill of Gonzo! I'm surprised after hearing Bonzo II complain about dragging Gonzo's good name through the mud.
After all, he just did his job as he was told by his handlers. How many people can you say that about?
It would be nice to contemplate him sitting behind bars mulling his choice of "patrones"; but we know that will never happen in the current political climate of our one-party government.