Thursday, July 26, 2007
Editorial: Impeach Gonzales
The attorney general's actions have moved beyond contempt for Congress and have risen to impeachable offenses.
From the RoundTable blog
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If Attorney General Alberto Gonzales maintained even a shred of credibility prior to his Tuesday appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, it disappeared as soon as he opened his mouth.
Gonzales' earlier bouts of memory lapses were replaced this time with stories fabricated to cover his and the administration's politicizing of the Justice Department and, worse, its quest to destroy Americans' civil liberties.
The House should impeach Gonzales under its power granted in Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution to remove from office any civil officer for high crimes and misdemeanors.
A year ago, when Republicans controlled Congress, Gonzales might have gotten away with the arrogance and contempt for the legislative branch. No more. Even top Republicans like Sen. Arlen Specter, ranking minority member on the Judiciary Committee, have had enough of Gonzales' lies.
"What credibility is left of you?" Specter warned, "The committee's going to review your testimony very carefully to see if your credibility has been breached to the point of being actionable."
It has.
Gonzales has refused to step down despite strong evidence that in his current role he allowed President Bush's political adviser Karl Rove to influence the firing of nine U.S. attorneys because they refused to do the bidding of the Republican Party.
He also stands accused of making misleading statements about the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance program and FBI civil liberties abuses. Now, he has spun a bizarre tale to try to justify the sickbed visit to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft to gain approval for an intelligence program that he was told was illegal.
Gonzales was doing the bidding of the president then and now. He insists he won't step down, and the White House continues to protect him, as it has others in this probe.
On Wednesday, the House began contempt proceedings against Joshua B. Bolten, White House chief of staff, and Harriet Miers, former White House counsel, for ignoring subpoenas to testify and produce documents. The executive branch stubbornly maintains that its authority is superior to that of Congress.
The contempt charges will prove meaningless because the U.S. attorney from Washington, D.C., is charged with prosecuting and the White House has prohibited that action. The same would occur if Gonzales is cited next for contempt.
The contempt charges will set the framework for a constitutional crisis requiring a drawn-out court battle that would outlive the Bush administration and allow Gonzales to remain in his post.
There is a better and faster way, and the only way for Congress to re-establish its power: impeachment.
