Diatribune

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales held a press conference this afternoon to address the furor over the recent firings of eight federal prosecutors. He said mistakes were made, he is looking into it, and he isn't going to resign. From AP:

WASHINGTON - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales acknowledged that mistakes were made and accepted responsibility Tuesday for the way eight federal prosecutors were fired.

At a news conference Tuesday, Gonzales said he would find out what went wrong but said he would not resign. "I acknowledge that mistakes were made here. I accept that responsibility," Gonzales said amid growing calls for his own termination.

There is nothing new here. Perhaps the Attorney General held the press conference to deflect criticism for the firings from the President onto himself. The White House has made a real mess for themselves by lying initially about why these people were fired. No one would argue with the President's right to choose federal prosecutors or his right to fire those who are not performing to expectations, but this incident is indicative of the kind of corruption that needs to be rooted out of our political system. These firings had Karl Rove's imprint all over them. This was clearly intended as a message to all prosecutors to go after Democrats vigorously or face consequences. There really is nothing to "find out". The only thing that "went wrong" was the way the administration botched the whole affair demonstrating once again it's complete incompetence. I found this quote especially interesting:

"Obviously I am concerned about the fact that information — incomplete information was communicated or may have been communicated to the Congress," Gonzales said. "I believe very strongly in our obligation to ensure that when we provide information to the Congress, it is accurate and it is complete. And I very dismayed that that may not have occurred here."

He calls it incomplete information. When Democrats do it they call it lying. If you really intend to take responsibility then call it what it is. Or maybe they want to pin it on someone else:

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Monday that then-White House Counsel Harriet Miers raised with an aide to Gonzales the prospect of asking all chief federal district prosecutors to resign in 2004 as a logical way to start a new term with a new slate of U.S. attorneys.

That's a thought, dump the whole thing on Harriet Miers. The only problem is that she is long gone.

I agree with the current calls that Alberto Gonzales should resign, but for different reasons. The Attorney General is responsible for ensuring that civil rights laws are upheld in this country. That is an extremely important responsibility. This Attorney General has been more focused on finding ways for this President to circumvent the Bill Of Rights. He needs to go.

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"I have no mouth and I must scream" Harlan Ellison