I've been thinking lately about Alberto Gonzales. It's hard to imagine that John Ashcroft's successor could have been any worse than he was, but Gonzales is. Much worse.
A month ago, Gonzales told this lie:
"I would never, ever make a change in a United States attorney position for political reasons or if it would in any way jeopardize an ongoing serious investigation. I just would not do it.Last week, Gonzales told another lie, saying he:
"was not involved in any discussions about what was going on" in the firings of eight prosecutors.I'll give him one thing, though -- Alberto Gonzales follows orders, even if it means being a goddamned liar. Josh Marshall writes:
Documents released yesterday show that Gonzales "approved plans to fire several U.S. attorneys in an hourlong meeting last fall."
When Alberto Gonzales went up to the Hill earlier this year and answered questions about the US Attorney firings, he lied about why they'd been fired. When evidence revealed that what he had told the Senate was not true, he told the country in his televised press conference that he hadn't been directly involved in the process and thus had not knowingly misled the Senate. Friday's document dump showed that that too was a lie. These of course are only the most conspicuous examples and I leave aside the numerous instances of his aides lying on his behalf.Yep, Alberto Gonzales is a liar, alright. Don't believe a word he says from now on. Not that you ever did anyway.
It is not too much to say that everything that has come out of Alberto Gonzales' mouth on this issue has been a lie. Sure, that sounds like hyperbole. But it's just a factual summary of what the public record now shows. On the very day his second lie was being exposed Gonzales was publicly claiming "it’s reckless and irresponsible to allege that these decisions were based in any way on improper motives."
And the president is fine with all of this. Fine with the fact that the Attorney General has not only repeatedly lied to the public but has also been exposed as repeatedly lying to the public. He's fine with at least two US Attorneys being fired for not giving in to pressure to file bogus charges to help Republican candidates.
Of course he's fine with it. Because it comes from him. None of this is about Alberto Gonzales. This is about the president and the White House, which is where this entire plan was hatched. Gonzales was just following orders, executing the president's plans. This is about this president and this White House, which ... let's be honest, everyone on both sides of the aisle already knows.