After appearing to have weathered the worst of the Justice Department scandal, Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales found himself under fresh assault Thursday on the heels of this week’s revelations about his conduct in the Bush administration.
Gonzales suffered withering attacks from two Republican senators and a former prosecutor as Senate Democrats added pressure of their own, calling for a no-confidence vote on the attorney general’s performance.
A week ago, Gonzales’ position seemed to be improving as he received support from Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee. But damaging testimony about Gonzales earlier this week from former Deputy Atty. Gen. James Comey undermined faith in his leadership.
“I don’t have confidence in Gonzales,” Republican Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota told reporters on a conference call Thursday as he became the fifth Senate Republican to call for the attorney general’s departure. “I would hope that the attorney general understands that the department is suffering right now, and he does the right thing, and that is allows the president to provide new leadership.”
Coleman, who faces a tough re-election campaign next year, cited Comey’s testimony as part of the reason for his call for Gonzales’ departure.
Comey told a Senate panel on Tuesday that Gonzales, when he was White House counsel, pushed a secret national security order over the objections of the Justice Department, which believed the program was illegal.
Also Thursday, Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and Charles Schumer of New York called for a full Senate vote on their largely symbolic resolution expressing a lack of confidence in Gonzales. The vote, they said, could come as early as next week.
The Democrats’ announcement followed remarks by Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, predicting Gonzales may resign after the panel finishes its probe of the firing of the federal prosecutors.
Calling the Justice Department “close to being dysfunctional,” Specter said that Gonzales seems “unable to perform” his duties as the chief U.S. law-enforcement officer. “I have a sense that, when we finish our investigation, we may have the conclusion of the tenure of the attorney general,” Specter said at a committee meeting Thursday.
Still, President Bush has said he has full confidence in Gonzales, and the attorney general has said he plans to stay in his post as long as he can be effective.
Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd offered a statement that said: “The attorney general remains focused on doing the job that the American people expect, like keeping the country safe from terrorism, our neighborhoods safe from violent crime and gangs, and our children safe from predators and pedophiles.”
The firings of eight U.S. attorneys last year have turned into a growing problem for the administration, as former prosecutors across the country strike back at the Justice Department’s treatment of them and their colleagues.
