Bye Bye, 'Berto! Don't let the door hit ya.... Let the cover-up, whitewash, corporate media re-writing of history begin....

US Attorney General Gonzales Resigns Monday August 27, 2007 6:01 PM By MATT APUZZO
WASHINGTON (AP) - Alberto Gonzales, the nation's first Hispanic attorney general, announced his resignation Monday, 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 Monday 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 program over the Justice Department's protests. Gonzales was White House counsel at the time and during a dramatic hospital confrontation he and then-White House chief of staff Andrew Card sought approval from then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, who was in intensive care recovering from surgery. Ashcroft refused.

Similarly, Gonzales found himself on the defensive as recently as March because of the FBI's improper and, in some cases, illegal prying into Americans' personal information during terror and spy probes.

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AP White House Correspondent Terence Hunt and Associated Press reporters Jennifer Loven and Lara Jakes Jordan contributed to this story.

Quotes About Gonzales' Resignation Monday August 27, 2007 4:31 PM By The Associated Press

Quotes Monday on the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales:

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``I have lived the American dream. Even my worst days as attorney general have been better than my father's best days.'' - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

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``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. This resignation is not the end of the story. Congress must get to the bottom of this mess and follow the facts where they lead, into the White House.'' - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

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``The attorney general's decision to step down is a positive step forward for the Department of Justice. Attorney General Gonzales' ability to lead the Department of Justice had been undermined by his serious errors in judgment and conflicting statements. I am hopeful that the President will name a strong successor who will begin to restore confidence in the department.'' - Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.

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``Long overdue. The rampant politicization of federal law enforcement that occurred under his tenure seriously eroded public confidence in our justice system. The president must now restore credibility to the office of the Attorney General.'' - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

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``I thank Alberto Gonzales for his public service and wish him well in his future endeavors. It is my hope that whomever President Bush selects as the next attorney general, he or she is not subjected to the same poisonous partisanship that we've sadly grown accustomed to over the past eight months.'' - Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

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``It has been a long and difficult struggle but at last, the attorney general has done the right thing and stepped down. ...We Democrats implore you (Bush) to work with us. Don't choose the path of confrontation and throw down the gauntlet we are willing to meet you in the middle of the road. All we ask is that you choose somebody who puts the rule of law first. we're not looking for confrontation here.'' -Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

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``The life of Alberto Gonzales has been defined by his devotion to family and deep commitment to public service. ... I appreciate his hard work in defense of our country and look forward to his future contributions.'' - House Republican Whip Roy Blunt.

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The Justice Department under Gonzales ``suffered a severe crisis of leadership that allowed our justice system to be corrupted by political influence.'' Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

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``He has dedicated years of his life to public service, both in Texas and at the federal level, and I wish him and his family all the best as they enter the next stage of their lives. The work of the Justice Department is indispensable to our global war on terrorism, and as we move forward, I trust that the next attorney general will continue an aggressive approach against those who aim to harm our nation.'' - House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.

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``He demonstrated that his loyalties lie with the president and his political agenda, not the American people or the evenhanded and impartial enforcement of our laws. ... My hope is that the president will select a new attorney general who will respect the rule of law and abandon partisanship, who will serve the American people and not the president---

``It is a sad day when the attorney general of the United States resigns amid a cloud of suspicion that the system of justice has been manipulated for political purposes. More than accountability, we need answers. ....If the power of the prosecutor has been misused in the name of partisanship, we deserve a full airing of the facts.'' - Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., House Judiciary chairman.

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``He has exhibited a lack of candor with Congress and the American people and a disdain for the rule of law and our constitutional system. I strongly urge President Bush to nominate a new attorney general who will respect our laws and restore the integrity of the office.'' - Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.

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``This is a great, great development. ...The next attorney general has to understand that his primary loyalty is to the Constitution and the rule of law and that sometimes he has to tell the president no.'' -Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias of New Mexico, one of the fired U.S. prosecutors.

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``Long overdue. The president must nominate an attorney general who is a lawyer for the American people, not a political arm of the White House.'' - New Mexico governor and Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson.

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``Better late than never.'' - Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards.

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``Mr. Gonzales' Justice Department became a political wing of the Bush administration and his resignation is long overdue. I will only vote to confirm a nominee for attorney general who is truly independent and who will guarantee reforms that restore and uphold the Constitution.'' - Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., a Democratic presidential candidate.

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``It's about time ... Gonzales now joins a long list of Republican officials resigning under a cloud of scandal, but these resignations cannot purge the Bush administration of its problems. The true problem rests with the Bush White House itself, which continues to put what's best for the Republican Party ahead of what's best for America.'' - Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean.

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