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   From: theprof@jonez.net   
      
   _ Prof. Jonez _ wrote:   
      
   > Gonzales out as AG   
      
   > By Associated Press   
   > August 27, 2007   
   >   
   > WASHINGTON - Alberto Gonzales, the nation's first Hispanic attorney   
   > general, announced his resignation today, driven from office after a   
   > wrenching standoff with congressional critics over his honesty and   
   > competence.   
   > Republicans and Democrats alike had demanded his departure over the   
   > botched handling of FBI terror investigations and the firings of U.S.   
   > attorneys, but President Bush had defiantly stood by his Texas friend   
   > for months until accepting his resignation last Friday.   
   >   
   > "After months of unfair treatment that has created a harmful   
   > distraction at the Justice Department, Judge Gonzales decided to   
   > resign his position and I accept his decision," Bush said from Texas,   
   > where he is vacationing.   
   > Solicitor General Paul Clement will be acting attorney general until a   
   > replacement is found and confirmed by the Senate, Bush said.   
   >   
   > Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff was among those mentioned as   
   > possible successors, though a senior administration official said the   
   > matter had not been raised with Chertoff.   
   >   
   > Bush leaves Washington next Monday for Australia, and Gonzales'   
   > replacement might not be named by then, the official said.   
   >   
   > "It has been one of my greatest privileges to lead the Department of   
   > Justice," Gonzales said, announcing his resignation effective Sept.   
   > 17 in a terse statement. He took no questions and gave no reason for   
   > stepping down.   
   > Bush said the attorney general's "good name was dragged through the   
   > mud for political reasons." Though some Republicans echoed the   
   > president's veiled slap at Democrats, Gonzales had few defenders left   
   > in Washington.   
   > Many Republicans actually welcomed his departure, some quietly and   
   > others publicly so.   
   >   
   > Congressional aides and lawmakers agreed that any nomination of a new   
   > attorney general was almost certain to be acrimonious. The easiest   
   > prospects, some said, might be a current or former colleague of   
   > senators charged with the confirmation. Sen. Arlen Specter, the   
   > ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, told reporters today   
   > that he would not accept the job, if offered.   
   > But, he said, another current or former senator "might be just the   
   > ticket."   
   > "If you have a former senator or a present senator or somebody who is   
   > well known to the Senate or the committee ... that's always a big   
   > help if you know the person," Specter told reporters in a telephone   
   > call as he traveled from Warsaw to Paris.   
   >   
   > Asked, too, about whether Chertoff might be a good candidate, Specter   
   > replied: "I think he's a first-rate prospect."   
   >   
   > Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards applauded Gonzales'   
   > resignation, saying it was "better late than never."   
   >   
   > The announcement came as a surprise to many in the administration.   
   > Gonzales was tight-lipped about his thinking before going on vacation   
   > more than a week ago and aides were planning events for the next   
   > several months.   
   > After spending time with his family in Texas, however, and facing the   
   > prospect of returning to Washington for months of continued fights   
   > with Congress, he called the president on Friday.   
   >   
   > The White House has asked anyone staying past Labor Day to stay the   
   > remainder of the president's term.   
   >   
   > Gonzales, formerly Bush's White House counsel, served more than two   
   > years at the Justice Department. In announcing his decision, Gonzales   
   > reflected on his up-from-the-bootstraps life story; he's the son of   
   > migrant farm workers from Mexico who didn't finish elementary school.   
   >   
   > "Even my worst days as attorney general have been better than my   
   > father's best days," Gonzales said.   
   >   
   > Bush steadfastly - and at times angrily - refused to give in to   
   > critics, even from his own GOP, who argued that Gonzales should go.   
   >   
   > Earlier this month at a news conference, the president grew irritated   
   > when asked about accountability in his administration and turned the   
   > tables on the Democratic Congress.   
   >   
   > "Implicit in your questions is that Al Gonzales did something wrong.   
   > I haven't seen Congress say he's done anything wrong," Bush said   
   > testily at the time. Actually, many in Congress had accused Gonzales   
   > of wrongdoing.   
   > After the 52-year-old Gonzales called Bush Friday, the president had   
   > him come to lunch at his ranch on Sunday as a parting gesture, a   
   > senior administration official said.   
   >   
   > Gonzales, whom Bush once considered for appointment to the Supreme   
   > Court, is the fourth top-ranking administration official to leave   
   > since November 2006, following Defense Secretary Donald H.   
   >   
   > Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, who had a high-ranking Pentagon job before   
   > going to the World Bank as its president, and top political and   
   > policy adviser Karl Rove.   
   > Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., reacted to   
   > the announcement by saying the Justice Department under Gonzales had   
   > "suffered a severe crisis of leadership that allowed our justice   
   > system to be corrupted by political influence."   
   >   
   > As attorney general and earlier as White House counsel, Gonzales   
   > pushed for expanded presidential powers, including the eavesdropping   
   > authority.   
   > He drafted controversial rules for military war tribunals and sought   
   > to limit the legal rights of detainees at Guantanamo Bay - prompting   
   > lawsuits by civil libertarians who said the government was violating   
   > the Constitution in its pursuit of terrorists.   
   >   
   > "Alberto Gonzales was never the right man for this job. He lacked   
   > independence, he lacked judgment, and he lacked the spine to say no   
   > to Karl Rove," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.   
   >   
   > In a warning to the White House, Reid suggested that investigations   
   > into the Justice Department will not end until Congress gets "to the   
   > bottom of this mess."   
   >   
   > One matter still under investigation is the 2006 dismissal of several   
   > federal prosecutors, who serve at the president's pleasure.   
   >   
   > Lawmakers said the action appeared to be politically motivated, and   
   > some of the fired U.S. attorneys said they felt pressured to   
   > investigate Democrats before elections.   
   >   
   > Gonzales maintained that the dismissals were based the prosecutors'   
   > lackluster performance records.   
   >   
   > In April, Gonzales answered "I don't know" and "I can't recall"   
   > scores of times while questioned by Congress about the firings. Even   
   > some Republicans said his testimony was evasive.   
   >   
   > Not Bush. The president praised Gonzales' performance and said the   
   > attorney general was "honest" and "honorable."   
   >   
   > In 2004, Gonzales pressed to reauthorize a secret domestic spying   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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