Washington is breathing a sigh of relief as Alberto Gonzales tendered his resignation today as Attorney General. At the same time, everyone is holding their breath waiting for President Bush to name the next target on the shooting range. The confirmation process is likely to be a brutal affair.
I didn't like Gonzales any more than I liked Reno or Ashcroft. That's three Attorney Generals in a row who did more damage to the rule of law regarding the Department of Justice than any three prior to them.
All three used their power to shield their respective Presidents from needed probes to determine if they broke the law.
The DOJ needs to get a handle on the Patriot Act as the FBI has been abusing the living daylights out of it since it's inception. Gonzales gave the impression that he didn't know what was happening in his department. That's why I didn't like him.
Good bye, Gonzales. I hope the President does a much better job in selecting someone who isn't one of his friends for the Attorney General position. The DOJ is not the President's personal shield against investigations of wrongdoing. But the last two Presidents have treated it like that, and that needs to end. And the sooner the better.
Showing posts with label justice department. Show all posts
Showing posts with label justice department. Show all posts
Monday, August 27, 2007
Friday, March 16, 2007
Hooplah Over Federal Attorney Firings is Nonsense: EVERY President Has Dismissed Prosecutors so Why is This Time Any Different?
A political "firestorm" has erupted over the firings of eight federal prosecutors by the Bush Administration.
It's all over nothing.
The reason that the Democrats are making a stink out of this is that they've (finally) discovered that there is no unity in their own party over what to do about Iraq. This new issue has brought about a sense of unity of purpose in the Democratic ranks. (It won't last---there's too many divisions, interests and overriding issues at play).
And the Republicans seem to think that the situation was mishandled. Yet they didn't say anything when President Clinton fired all the attorneys to in his first term; nor did they say anything when George W. Bush fired all of Clinton's people at the start of his first term.
Those federal prosecutors serve at the pleasure of the President. He chose to fire eight of them. End of story.
And Alberto Gonzales is out to save his job. His credibility was stretched beyond belief long before this food fight started. He's been ordered to "patch things up" with Congress, but I don't think he can do it.
The bigger issue is the rampant FBI abuse of the Patriot Act. This other idiocy can wait.
It's all over nothing.
The reason that the Democrats are making a stink out of this is that they've (finally) discovered that there is no unity in their own party over what to do about Iraq. This new issue has brought about a sense of unity of purpose in the Democratic ranks. (It won't last---there's too many divisions, interests and overriding issues at play).
And the Republicans seem to think that the situation was mishandled. Yet they didn't say anything when President Clinton fired all the attorneys to in his first term; nor did they say anything when George W. Bush fired all of Clinton's people at the start of his first term.
Those federal prosecutors serve at the pleasure of the President. He chose to fire eight of them. End of story.
And Alberto Gonzales is out to save his job. His credibility was stretched beyond belief long before this food fight started. He's been ordered to "patch things up" with Congress, but I don't think he can do it.
The bigger issue is the rampant FBI abuse of the Patriot Act. This other idiocy can wait.
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