The Rule Of Law & The Media vs Gonzales & Bush

Friday, 25 May 2007, 11:01 am
Article: Scoop Link

US Attorneys News Links:
The Rule Of Law & The Media vs Gonzales & Bush Et. Al.

Senate Readies No-Confidence Vote in Bid to Oust Gonzales
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/052107D.shtml

The US Senate was set to take the almost unprecedented move of a no-confidence vote on US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, ramping up pressure on President George W. Bush to sack his unpopular longtime aide.

Efforts to Stop "Voter Fraud" May Have Curbed Legitimate Voting
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/052107E.shtml

During his four years as a Justice Department civil rights lawyer, Hans von Spakovsky went so far in a crusade against voter fraud as to warn of its dangers under a pseudonym in a law journal article. Now, amid a scandal over politicization of the Justice Department, Congress is beginning to examine allegations that von Spakovsky was a key player in a Republican campaign to hang onto power in Washington by suppressing the votes of minorities.

McKay Suggests Cover-Up in Prosecutor Case
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/052207L.shtml

Fired US Attorney John McKay believes the Justice Department is covering up the real reason for his ouster. Some Republicans were appalled that McKay didn't bring charges of "election fraud" in the Washington state election won by Democrat Chris Gregoire. "I still don't know if the 2004 governor's election was the principal reason I was asked to step down. If it was, I think it is an entirely improper and perhaps illegal reason for my termination," said McKay.

FOCUS | At DOJ, a Hard Job to Fill
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/052007Y.shtml

Few in Washington have envied Paul McNulty over the past three months. But with the deputy attorney general's resignation last week amid the scandal over the firings of at least eight US attorneys, there's one person whose position might be even less desirable: McNulty's yet-to-be-named successor.

The New York Times | Why This Scandal Matters
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/052107K.shtml

"As Monica Goodling, a key player in the United States attorney scandal, prepares to testify before Congress on Wednesday, the administration's strategy is clear. It has offered up implausible excuses, hidden the most damaging evidence and feigned memory lapses, while hoping that the public's attention moves on. But this scandal is too important for the public or Congress to move on. This story should not end until Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is gone, and the serious damage that has been done to the Justice Department is repaired," writes The New York Times.

FOCUS | In Closed Meeting With Gonzales, Prosecutors Express Their Dismay
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/051907Y.shtml

Even as he came under renewed political pressure in Washington this week, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales faced sharp criticism from many of his own US attorneys at a private meeting in San Antonio, prosecutors who were there said.

Dems Seek No-Confidence Vote on Gonzales
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/051707S.shtml

Two Senate Democrats said Thursday they will seek a no-confidence vote on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales over accusations that he carried out President Bush's political agenda at the expense of the Justice Department's independence. Senators Chuck Schumer of New York and Dianne Feinstein of California, who have led the investigation into the conduct of White House officials and Gonzales, said the attorney general has been too weakened to run the department.

At Least 26 Prosecutors Were Listed for Firing
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/051707A.shtml

The Justice Department considered dismissing many more US attorneys than officials have previously acknowledged, with at least 26 prosecutors suggested for termination between February 2005 and December 2006, according to sources familiar with documents withheld from the public.

Democrats Move to Expand Probe of Gonzales, Justice Department
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/051707B.shtml

Senate Democrats, spurred by revelations that then-White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales pressured hospitalized Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2004 to approve a secret spying program, are stepping up a probe of the Justice Department.

The New York Times | Mr. Gonzales's Incredible Adventure
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/051707C.shtml

The editors of The New York Times write: "There were many fascinating threads to the testimony on Tuesday by the former deputy attorney general, James Comey, who described the night in March 2004 when two top White House officials tried to pressure an ailing and hospitalized Attorney General John Ashcroft into endorsing President Bush's illegal wiretapping operation. But the really big question, an urgent avenue for investigation, is what exactly the National Security Agency was doing before that night under Mr. Bush's personal orders. Did Mr. Bush start by authorizing the agency to intercept domestic emails and telephone calls without first getting a warrant?"

GOP Senators Call for Gonzales to Resign
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/051707J.shtml

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales came under renewed pressure on Wednesday as two more Republican senators came out against him and Democrats challenged his truthfulness about President Bush's no-warrant eavesdropping program. And on Tuesday, a quarter-page open letter was published in the Washington Post by 56 members of Gonzales's graduating class at Harvard Law School, excoriating their former classmate for his "cavalier handling of our freedoms."

Congress Demands Emails; Justice Says Ask Rove Camp
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/051707K.shtml

The Justice Department on Wednesday told an angry Senate Judiciary Committee chairman that it does not have the documents described in a subpoena demanding all materials relating to Karl Rove's possible involvement in the US attorney firings. Instead, it said, Rove's lawyer must have them.

Deniz Yeter | Conyers Tells Gonzales to Explain Ninth Fired US Attorney
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/051607R.shtml

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Michigan), along with committee members Zoe Lofgren (D-California) and Linda Sanchez (D-California), sent a letter yesterday to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, which pressed him to explain the events surrounding the dismissal of Todd Graves, the ninth US Attorney to be fired.

Senators Question Whether Gonzales Lied Under Oath About NSA Wiretapping Program

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/051607S.shtml

Senate Judiciary Committee members asked Gonzales if he stands by his 2006 testimony that Comey and other Department of Justice officials did not have concerns about the NSA wiretapping program, which would be in contradiction to Comey's testimony yesterday.

McNulty, Davis Resignations a Blow to Bush
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/051507B.shtml

In a blow to the Bush administration, the deputy attorney general and the only Democrat on the White House's Privacy and Civil Liberties Board have resigned.

US Justice Department No. 2 Resigns
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/051507J.shtml

Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty announced his resignation yesterday after 18 months on the job, becoming the fourth senior Justice Department official to quit amid the controversy surrounding the dismissal of nine US attorneys last year.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Scoop

Scoop Independent News

Scoop is NZ's largest independent news source; respected widely in media, political, business and academic circles for being the place on the internet for publishing "what was really said", and for the quality of its analysis of issues.

Contact Scoop

• Editorial - editor@scoop.co.nz
• Twitter - @ScoopNZ
• Facebook
• YouTube
• Services - services@scoop.co.nz
• Phone - 04 910 1844