Law By Gonzales Coming To Its End

Lots of Americans will watch the Senate committee question Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales on the dismissal of eight of the 93 U.S. attorneys for political reasons. This is nothing more than a smudge, a mere footnote in Gonzales’ resume.

The major value of this charge, however, is that this might be the one they can nail him with; like tax cheating was all the authorities could use to jail Al Capone in Chicago. If it bumps him out of power, use it.

Everyone familiar with the process expects U.S. attorneys to be political picks. That’s right, they are supposed to be good lawyers and all that, but they are chosen by the President, usually at the start of an administration. President Bill Clinton tossed them all – all 93 – to install his own people. And that is how it is done, and has always been done.

So if it worked for Clinton, it should work for President George W. Bush too, right? Well, not quite.

It is one thing to appoint U.S. attorneys who are either Republican or Democrat, it is quite another to expect them to forego professionalism for partisanship. Up until the Bush Administration, it was always expected – even taken for granted – that while the U.S. attorneys were appointed by the president, as the head of his particular political party, they would perform their duties with professional integrity, essentially as officers of the court. In other words, they were expected to bring forward federal prosecutions on the basis of evidence that clearly indicated crimes committed, etc. They were not expected to begin prosecutions on flimsy or non-existent evidence in order to further political goals for their party, or more directly, for the president that appointed them.

But now it seems increasingly obvious that Mr. Bush’s Justice Department, through his administrator, Alberto Gonzales, pressured the GOP U.S. attorneys to pursue cases that were political in nature, and judged their performance accordingly. And that is why Congress is so interested in the e-mails, memos and meetings that were held regarding how the U.S. attorneys were performing.

Alberto, of course, does “not recollect” anything from those meetings. But now his deputy is contradicting him, his next in command has quit and one of the staff has refused to testify, citing the Fifth Amendment – fear of self incrimination. Lots of great backup for Gonzales is evident here in his own office.

The crux of the problem facing Attorney General Gonzales relates to complaints from inside the Bush Administration that some U.S. attorneys failed to prosecute Democrats quickly enough, despite little or no evidence, especially during the time period just before the 2006 mid-term elections. To GOP insiders, some of the prosecutors had to go, and this is where the internal discussion over how to rate the U.S. attorneys and decide who to replace happened. It is here that ethical questions finally come to the forefront. What were the reasons, the judgments, by which the eight prosecutors were fired?

President Bush’s favorite law, the Patriot Act, provided absolutely no check on the president’s ability to bring new U.S. attorneys to the Congress for confirmation. Puff, anybody could be named a U.S. attorney without peril. That this is an invitation to abuse has been recognized and is being fixed, so the fight is really all about why the Bush Administration would want a political loyalty test for federal prosecutors.

If Gonzales really remembers nothing of the regular briefings he got regarding the firing of the U.S. attorneys, he should obviously commit himself to a mad house. We as a nation depend on the Attorney General to have a clear memory.

Gonzales does not deserve to get kicked out of the Attorney General’s post, no, he deserves to go to jail. He has shown contempt for the judicial process that is beyond anything known in the past. It seems clear that he has participated in calculated attempts to twist and bend the American system of laws to meet the goals and ends of the Republican Party, and if this can be proven through the current Congressional investigations, he should be fully prosecuted.

It seems increasingly obvious that Mr. Gonzales has no respect for the Constitution or the American public. Back when Gonzales was being confirmed to the Attorney General’s post, there were warnings.

“Mr. Gonzales offered a view of executive power so expansive that it would allow the President to ignore laws passed by Congress. His recommendations as White House Counsel also opened the door to the abuse of detainees in U.S. custody,” said Michael Posner, Executive Director of Human Rights First.

Human Rights First opposed the nomination of Alberto Gonzales to be Attorney General in January, the first time in its 27-year history that it has opposed a presidential cabinet nominee. It was of course an exercise in shouting into the wind during the time when the GOP dominated both houses of Congress.

Now, however, the record of Attorney General Gonzales is chilling.

Torture? No problem; it’s legal for the president to authorize. Can prisoners be transferred to other nations for ‘interrogation?’ Mr. Gonzales said absolutely okay, go ahead and send prisoners to nations known for torturing people. But what about denying pain killer medicines, or trying some simulated drowning by waterboarding? To Mr. Gonzales, all of that is just fine.

The Bush Administration of course also tried to render Congress powerless by its new interpretation, and misuse, of the concept of “signing statements” attached to new legislation. Bush has made a habit of this technique, even when the Congress was all Republican and he had no reason to expect a backlash, but of course this gave him an opportunity to create a precedent of a president who is above the laws established by Congress..

And what about International laws: in the “war on terror” the old rules should be dropped, the Bush Administration indicated, so the Geneva Convention is useless. Mr. Bush found convenient counsel regarding military commissions and the role of the courts, and how to discount the Afghan war as a Geneva Convention conflict.

In fact, Gonzales has been chief lawyer in charge of wresting as much power away from the courts and the Congress as possible and placing it in the hands of the president.

Gonzales justified all Bush’s dictatorial power grabbing by wrapping it up in nice tight packages of legal treacle that spoke no truth at all. Gonzales has pushed torture, tried to make Congress a window dressing, and done away with international law.

What may happen now, with a Democratic Congress, is that the high crimes and misdemeanors that Mr. Gonzales appears guilty of committing may be brought forward with enough evidence that he will quietly retire or get fired. Whatever way it happens, the end of the Law according to Gonzales must come.