Monday, April 23, 2007

Inappropriate or Incompetent?

By now, most of you will have heard about the recent terminations of many (8) U.S. Attorney's by the Attorney General of The United States, Alberto Gonzales. No doubt you have heard about all of the controversy that has been generated.

As a result of the irregularities surrounding the dismissals, the Senate Judiciary Committee wanted the persons involved, including Karl Rove...

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Harriet Miers...

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

and Attorney General Gonzales...

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The White House fought tooth and nail, citing executive privilege, to keep White House staff members from having to testify under oath. Hmm. Am I the only person that has a problem with this?

Let's look at it this way: How well do you think it would go over when I make an arrest and then tell the judge, "Your honor, I'm happy to testify in this case, but I won't do it under oath, and I won't do it with a court reporter present, and only if you agree not to tell the public"? How do you think it would go from there? Not well, I can assure you... but this is what the White House wants. The President doesn't want his staff compelled to tell the truth.

Something is wrong with that, my friends.

We shouldn't be surprised, though. The President is a bloody liar, himself, and has surropunded himself with like-minded people.

Eventually the testimony conditions (after some compromising) were agreed to by all parties, and AG Gonzales was compelled to testify, under oath, with a court reporter, and on television. Before his testimony, however, Mr. Gonzales had several weeks of rehearsal and preparation time for his hearing, even cancelling his scheduled vacation around Easter, in order to have more time to prepare.

**News Flash** YOU DON'T NEED TWO WEEKS OF PREPARATION TO TELL THE BLOODY TRUTH!

On the day of his testimony AG Gonzales used the term "I don't recall" or words to that effect at least 45 times.

45 times.

This man is the Attorney General of the United States, as such he is the chief law enforcement officer in the United States. He is supposed to be the guy in charge of enforcing our laws. This is a man who was once the Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court... he should know a bit about the law, and about testimony. Saying "I don't recall" so many times while on the witness stand must make anyone hearing this, question the man's integrity or fitness to testify.

According to documents that surfaced through this investigation, AG Gonzales has attended meetings (which he earlier claimed he didn't attend), and detailed briefings (which he claims not to remember) on terminating the employment of 8 U.S. Attorneys. He doesn't remember any of it? He doesn't remember signing documents? His staff is making these decisions for him and he isn't even consulted? Is the Attorney General suffering from Alzheimer's?

I'm sorry, Mr. Gonzales, or "Gonzo" as President Bush calls him, but this isn't good enough.

Either you fired those people for political reasons in some sort of partisan shaking of the law enforcement tree, in which case you should resign, or the Department of Justice is completely out of control because of your incompetence, in which case you should be fired. In either case, you should leave office.

Regular rank and file cops can lose their jobs even at the hint of impropriety. This is because you can't hold a position of public trust if you are a liar, a thief, or someone who when under oath, is prone to dissemble.

You, sir, are a sleazeball. I wouldn't trust you, or any of your lickspittle coterie of thugs, liars, wingnuts, and Regent University graduates, to guard the most rancid whorehouse in Olongapo.

You disgust me.... but this is what we get from people that think torture is alright, as long as you don't call it torture, and the Geneva convention on the treatment of Prisoners of War is irrelevant as long as you call them "detainees".

20 comments:

Ambassador said...

Geez, this makes me long for the days of Ken Starr and Linda Tripp. How is that we can't say, "I can't recall" when we're filing tax returns or insurance claims?

Anonymous said...

"YOU DON'T NEED TWO WEEKS OF PREPARATION TO TELL THE BLOODY TRUTH!"

Hear! Hear!
This whole process has been maddening. We have actually been watching it unfold since the beginning, even before it became the public spectacle it currently is. Just ridiculous I tell ya.
Thanks for the outrage and the well thought response.

Wild Wild West Drive said...

I seriously love your blog. I could not agree with you more. It is insane the degree to which people feel they do not have to take responsibility or be accountable. I look forward to future posts!

Gunfighter said...

Welcome new readers!

Welcome!, Welcome!, Welcome!

GF

jessabean said...

Great post! It never ceases to disgust me how far this administration has gone to hide and manipulate the truth. I can't believe that America doesn't put up more of a stink about this.

Oh, and speaking of detainees, funny that Luis Posada Carriles is running around free in Miami now despite being linked to the bombing of an airplane in 1976 and described by the Justice Dept as "an unrepentant criminal and admitted mastermind of terrorist plots." But consistently applying the "law" has never been at the top of the agenda for Bush or his loyal Bushies.

Sorry to hijack...just reading about this crap gets me going. :)

Brillig said...

Oh. My. Holy. Crap. Yes. Thank you for writing my thoughts so much better than I could have. Amazing. This whole thing has been so INFURIATING for me! Grrrrrrrrr. I'm so done with this administration.

CreoleInDC said...

I listened to the hearings and laughed the ENTIRE TIME. It's comical how dumb they think we are. COMICAL!

Hey Gunfighter!

Lawyer Mama said...

The fact that they fired some attorney generals doesn't bother me. They do serve at the pleasure of the President. I mean, Clinton fired all of them when he took office. But at least he didn't hide his reasons.

What bothers me about Gonzo and the whole situation is the secrecy and denials and the implicit quid prop quo - if you aren't going to do what WE want, we'll fire you.

And hey, does "Gonzo" make anyone else think of the Muppets?

soccer mom in denial said...

I keep snickering that his nickname is the name of the Muppet with the long, curley nose that no one knew what to do with. He was insanely eager and always said things that didn't make sense.

Hmmmm.... coincidence?

Gunfighter said...

LM,

Clinton fired all of the U.S. Attornies when he took office, but all Presidents do that when a new administration from a different party takes over. This was different. This was selective termination, mostly based on wether or not certain U.S. Attornies were going after Democratic political operatives, canidates, and office holders with enough zeal... not because they were criminals, mind you, but because they were Democrats in an election year.

Exceptionally unethical.

PunditMom said...

I'm totally with you on this one, GF. You also don't need two weeks to prepare if all you're going to say is, "I don't recall."

From my attorney days, I can say this -- someone who "doesn't recall" things that many times just doesn't want to admit what he really recalls.

Gunfighter said...

Defense Attorney: "Inspector Gunfighter, tell the court the circumstances under which you collected the evidence against my client."

"I don't recall exactly where. I remember being at the crime scene, I just don't know all of the details of what went on there... my report SAYS I was there, so I must have been... I just don't have a clear memory"

Defense Attorney: "Move for dismissal your honor!"

Judge: Case dismissed"

U.S. Attorney: "You ASSHOLE!, you blew the whole cse!"

Gunfighter's Boss: "You are SO fired!"

Lawyer Mama said...

Oh yes, I'm with you. That's why I said the quid pro quo aspect of it was so disturbing.

LOVE your court testimony. If I had a client who "didn't recall" that many times, I'd remove myself as counsel.

Terri@SteelMagnolia said...

I feel the same as Lawyer Mama.

The only "Gonzo" I remember is the cute doctor on Trapper John M.D.

I'm sorry, but I personally don't think President Bush lied.
I think more people should watch Fox News, it is fair and balanced.

Gunfighter said...

"I'm sorry, but I personally don't think President Bush lied.

Well, we'll have to disagree on this, Terri. Starting with the whole set of lies that led to the invasion of Iraq.

I think more people should watch Fox News, it is fair and balanced.

You seem like a nice person Terri... but I have to say that watching news programs that agree with your own worldview, anchored by people that have to vet their stories through republican party operatives (Roger Ailes) is no way to be informed.

Additionally, if the reporters spend their time editorializing instead of reproting facts, it isn't really a news show... it is an opinion show.

Besides, FOX is owned by a foreigner... hardly the place I want to get my news.

Fair and balanced my ass!

Terri@SteelMagnolia said...

I actually flip back and forth between Fox and CNN ... but I mainly watch Fox.

I do feel that CNN does not report fairly... they are very biased. Fox always has members of both sides to battle it out.

I never miss Lou Dobbs ... uggghhhh, but I can't stand Wolfie.

Have you ever watched Special Report w/ Brit Hume? What about The Beltway Boys? Chris Wallace on Sunday's? We watch them all. I think you should check them out.
The intelligence was wrong .. and a lot of countries got it wrong ... including Israel.

Even Bill Clinton had it wrong for years ... he too, thought there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. They all saw the same information. Dubya didn't make it all up. Also, SoDamnInsane had months to move weapons out of Iraq.
Who knows.

Bottom line for me ... I hate being over there in Iraq... I wish we could get the *&% out of there.
I weep over every single death. I hate war. I don't think anyone wants war. Who really wants war??
It is definitely a hornets nest over there in Iraq.

The first Gulf War was so different... We should have taken SoDamn out back then when we had the chance. My opinion.

I could not be President...you can't please everyone. He's been slammed w/ all kinds of *^%(% that hasn't happened to other Presidents. I do think he's doing the best he can to protect our country from terrorists. I just don't think Bush is the horrible madman so many people say that he is.

I certainly don't agree with everything he does ~ but he is a God loving Christian. I think he and Laura are good people.

Don't hate me because I don't hate Bush. *pout face* I feel how I feel. I don't hate Clinton either.. and I think he is one of the most immoral men I've ever seen. Did you ever read The Final Days, by Barbara Olsen?

I am worried about our future...
our world is such a mess. There is so much evil around us.
I'm afraid.

All I can do is pray for our government to do the right thing.

I pray that God will protect our country and our troops.

I hope it's okay that I voiced my opinion on your blog. I would never want to argue with you.

It's so funny... our pediatric cardiologist is a Democrat.. and we're Republican (duh) .. he always wants us to come in 15 minutes early so we can talk politics while he's doing an ECHO on Matthew. He always say's...
"I don't want to fight.... but let's discuss this..." It's hysterical.

Gunfighter said...

Think, Terri.

If the leader of any other nation did some of the things that your friend Mr Bush has done since being in power, our government would be working hard at regime change.

JoeC said...

"Besides, FOX is owned by a foreigner... hardly the place I want to get my news."

I know what you meant, but it just struck me that actually, foreign-owned news sources are some of the best places to get "real" news about the U.S. these days. It's almost like the USSR in the 1980s...here in the states, even the bad news gets a pro-nationalistic spin, however slightly. Searching the same story up in a few foreign journals usually reveals more of the truth...what the U.S. corporate-pleasing media decided to edit out.

JoeC said...

P.S. on that last comment...if it wasn't clear, I definitely AM NOT advocating watching FOX, the KING of pro-USA-spin. I was thinking more along the lines of journals from India, Brazil, England...other countries.

Gunfighter said...

I don't disagree, Joe.

I frequently watch the German ZDF, and the CBC "The National". I also listen to BBC radio fairly frequently.