Gonzales defends prosecutor firings (he released prepared Senate statement)

[rodeodance]

Source: AP



Gonzales defends prosecutor firings

By LARA JAKES JORDAN and HOPE YEN, Associated Press Writers 41 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, fighting to save his job, said in prepared Senate testimony Sunday he has "nothing to hide" in the firings of eight federal prosecutors but claimed a hazy memory about his involvement in them.


Two Republican senators said Gonzales has yet to shore up his credibility amid shifting explanations of his role in the dismissals. Vice President
Dick Cheney reaffirmed White House support for the attorney general — but left it to Gonzales to defend himself to lawmakers who have called for his resignation.

In his 25-page statement, Gonzales apologized for embarrassing the eight U.S. attorneys and their families by letting their ousters erupt into a political firestorm that has engulfed the Justice Department since January. He maintained the firings were not improper, but said he remembers having only an indirect role in the plans beyond approving them.

"I have nothing to hide, and I am committed to assuring the Congress and the American public that nothing improper occurred here," Gonzales said in prepared testimony released before he appears Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The panel, which oversees the Justice Department, is investigating whether the firings were politically motivated.

"I am sorry for my missteps that have helped to fuel the controversy," he said.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070415/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/fired_prosecutors;_ylt=Aph2TruB.Md430ZXJarac2.s0NUE

[rodeodance]

1. Bloomberg, AFP have stories also:

at IP


Off the Wires
* Gonzales defends prosecutor firings AP, 43 minutes ago
* US attorney general insists he has 'nothing to hide' AFP, 54 minutes ago

Feature Articles
* Insider's sudden downfall in prosecutors' case familiar to D.C. at Boston Globe, Mar 29
* Why US attorneys were fired: the evidence so far at Christian Science Monitor, Mar 26

News Stories
* Gonzales Apologizes to Prosecutors, Says He Has Nothing to Hide Bloomberg via Yahoo! News, Apr 15

[IChing]

2. TUESDAY!!!! I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU SWEAT YOU LITTLE TURD

Your lies are catching up with you.





I guess he wrote this before he read the Sunday news story on the timeline and the phone calls.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x659770

[rodeodance]

9. If the jest of what he is to say is in this statement--it wil be real boring

[dethl]

3. Too much contrary evidence against Gonzo.....

No way in hell he's going to be able to get away with this.

[aquart]

5. His WaPo piece is up to 46 pages of comments. All hostile.

[rodeodance]

8. `My goal was to improve the performance of the Justice Department,'' Gonzales said.

Then-White House Counsel Harriet Miers first asked about firing all 93 U.S. attorneys shortly after
President George W. Bush was re-elected in 2004, Gonzales said. While the attorney general said he rejected that suggestion, he said he thought ``it would be appropriate and a good management decision'' to evaluate the prosecutors to determine if any should be removed.

``My goal was to improve the performance of the Justice Department,'' Gonzales said.

Sampson was in charge of the process and provided periodic updates on the review process, Gonzales said.

``During those updates, to my knowledge, I did not make decisions about who should or should not be asked to resign,'' Gonzales said.

[dethl]

23. Improve the performance my ass.....

Gonzo had to have been directly involved since HE got to make the choice of the new US Attorney (with no Senate confirmation at that time too).

[wake.up.america]

7. Political reasons or not, he lied. In fact - they wanted tighter election control.

[rodeodance]

4. I have never heard of PRE-releasing an opening statement. (on a Sunday)

[rodeodance]

6. basically, it says here he delegated the work:

He indicated he trusted his most senior aides, including Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, to select prosecutors who would be asked to resign, based on their performance. "It was to be a group of officials, including the deputy attorney general, who were much more knowledgeable than I about the performance of each U.S. attorney," he said.

But Gonzales indicated he could not definitively say whether he was involved in decisions on selecting which prosecutors would be targeted. The few, brief updates on the firings he received from Kyle Sampson, his former chief of staff, "focused primarily on the review process itself," Gonzales said.

"During those updates, to my knowledge, I did not make decisions about who should or should not be asked to resign," Gonzales said.

[kurth]

10. The WP whores couldn't wait to print his garbage

Pathetic.

[bemildred]

11. Which is it? "I can't remember" or "I know I have nothing to hide"? nt

[Heidi]

12. Kick.

:kick:

[Omaha Steve]

13. Attorney General Says Prosecutor Firings Weren't Improper but Claims Little Direct Role

Source: Associated Press

Attorney General Says Prosecutor Firings Weren't Improper but Claims Little Direct Role

04-15-2007 4:09 PM
By LARA JAKES JORDAN and HOPE YEN, Associated Press Writers

Listen to audio Listen to audio: http://omaha.cox.net/cci/apaudio/ap-audio-20070415122718-174.mp3

WASHINGTON (Associated Press) -- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, fighting to save his job, said in prepared Senate testimony Sunday he has "nothing to hide" in the firings of eight federal prosecutors but claimed a hazy memory about his involvement in them.

Two Republican senators said Gonzales has yet to shore up his credibility amid shifting explanations of his role in the dismissals. Vice President Dick Cheney reaffirmed White House support for the attorney general _ but left it to Gonzales to defend himself to lawmakers who have called for his resignation.


Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appears at a round table discussion with law enforcement officials about his Project Safe Childhood initiative in Boston in this March 30, 2007 file photo. Gonzales said Sunday he has done nothing improper in the firings of eight federal prosecutors in testimony prepared for his appearance before a Senate panel widely viewed as a last chance to save his job. "I have nothing to hide," Gonzales said in a statement released Sunday. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia, File)


In his 25-page statement, Gonzales apologized for embarrassing the eight U.S. attorneys and their families by letting their ousters erupt into a political firestorm that has engulfed the Justice Department since January. He maintained the firings were not improper, but said he remembers having only an indirect role in the plans beyond approving them.

"I have nothing to hide, and I am committed to assuring the Congress and the American public that nothing improper occurred here," Gonzales said in prepared testimony released before he appears Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The panel, which oversees the Justice Department, is investigating whether the firings were politically motivated.

Read more: http://omaha.cox.net/cci/newsnational/national?_mode=view&_state=maximized&view=article&id=D8OH99N00&_action=validatearticle

[tabasco]

14. "There was no crime committed but if there was it was somebody else."

Typical response from a Bush mafia thug.

[bemildred]

15. Which is it? "I don't remember" or "I know I have nothing to hide"? nt

[charlyvi]

16. He's either lying or incredibly stupid.

I think he's lying. I'd hate to think he was stupid enough to leave the appointment of USA's to graduates of Pat Robertson U; or, worse still, Karl Rove.

[bemildred]

17. Could be both. That looks like a good bet to me, actually. nt

[truthisfreedom]

18. It seems there's a rash of Alzheimer's cases happening in the thug party.

Lot's of "hazy memories" and "do not recalls." It seems to me that we don't need an AG who can't remember what he's done.

[tanyev]

19. Gotta watch out for that purple haze.

[C_U_L8R]

20. Gonzo should try the Weepy defense

and throw himself and his tear-filled hanky on the mercy of congress.
boohoohoohoohoohoohoo

[DCKit]

21. "I Barely even work there" says Gonzales

I'm reminded of an old Family Circus cartoon entitled "Nobody"

[yardwork]

22. The dog ate my memory