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If you haven't been following the scandal surrounding both the US Department of Justice and its head, Alberto Gonzalez, please google it somewhere and read up in detail on the unfolding events. They're lengthy, and obscene (in the true sense of the word). Suffice to say, in brief, with Gonzalez's approval, Carl Rove has turned the DoJ into an an arm of the Republican National Party, hiring and firing state attorneys based on their willingness to prosecute Democratic candidates directly before elections, while firing DoJ federal lawyers who didn't meet an ideological test and hiring ones who went to fourth tier religious colleges. And much, much worse.

(Okay, I'll be a nice guy and link you here, but it won't help much until you research some background. Lots of good stuff in this article, however.)

But my question in this thread is, will Gonzalez ever go on his own? The testimony from his subordinates, who have been leaving the sinking ship, has been damning. The memos and email that have been turned over (with plenty more being withheld) is more of the same. Even major Republican senators, scenting the breeze on this one, have called for Gonzalez to step down.

But he hasn't, despite the worst, and I don't think he will. I just read a piece by Glenn Greenwald that sums the matter up nicely:

It has seemed highly unlikely all along, and still does, that Bush is going to ever force Gonzales to leave, or that Gonzales will leave on his own. Independent of all the cultural and psychological dynamics that govern Bush's "loyalty" fetishses, the single most important asset Bush has right now is that the prosecutorial machinery is in the clutches of his most craven, obedient and loyal follower.

If Gonzales leaves, then his replacement will have to be confirmed by the Senate, which is highly unlikely to confirm anyone who is too politically loyal to the Bush circle. That means that the only alternative to Gonzales' staying is an independent Justice Department that acts in the interests of justice, rather than Bush's political and personal interests. That is what Bush fears most, and that is why Gonzales will almost certainly stay, unless he is forced out.

Many people argue he'll jump ship, but I'm with Greenwald on this one. Gonzalez will do whatever Bush asks, and Bush needs Gonzalez's corpse exactly where it is, as a doorjam to prevent justice from leaking out of the DoJ. Case in point: several committes have suppoened Secretary of State Rice based on a number of statements she's made that contradict the facts as they have now appeared. She's said no. Who enforces her appearance before the congressional committees, or the threat of being held in contempt...? The US Attorney General, Alberto Gonzalez.

And that's why Rice is going about her business, without a care in the world.

Your opinion?

There is a chance he might go on his own accord. Monica Goodling, the lady who handled the reasons for the firing and those job interviews based on political loyalty and belief, is going to testify before Congress soon. She is supposed to have immunity from prosecution so there is a chance the story she tells will get Gonzales to leave on his own. It’s a long shot for sure but the chance is still there.

Trias12 wrote:There is a chance he might go on his own accord. Monica Goodling, the lady who handled the reasons for the firing and those job interviews based on political loyalty and belief, is going to testify before Congress soon. She is supposed to have immunity from prosecution so there is a chance the story she tells will get Gonzales to leave on his own. It’s a long shot for sure but the chance is still there.

But what could she say that would be worse than has been said, already, about Gonzalez? He has claimed a couple of hundred times literally; they've been counted) before the committee in two meetings that he didn't remember important facts. He has been caught lying repeatedly, contradicting his own testimony to protect his ass. He was even persuaded by Bush to go and visit Ashcroft, who was very ill and in the hospital, to convince him to sign a wiretaping order that both Ashcroft and his acting assistant had agreed was completely illegal.

On top of this, and ever so much detail that has emerged in the last couple of months, what could Goodling add that would get him out? I can think of only two things:

1) That he was caught on film indulging in nude displays with a pair of nuns and a homosexual dolphin.

2) That he'd once written on a note "George Bush is a idiot!" and got it notarized.

What's the chance of either of those happening?

Considering the way things have progressed in this utterly corrupt administration, relevations concerning Gonzalez are just par for the course. He won't go anywhere, and I'll be rather surprised if he does. Rove has been rather busy engineering Republican victories in state elections thanks to the DoJ and their staff...which alone would spell doom to a White House in more sensible, informed times. However, with critical apparatus stacked by the neo-cons in Washington, nothing will probably come of any of this scandal...nor any other for that fact. Watergate is small change compared to the ominous shadows of corruption looming in the Bush White House.