Gonzales-His Only Role In This Scandal Now Is As DECOY (Slate)

[kpete]

Alberto Gonzales, Zen Master
The attorney general jiujitsus Congress with a smile.
By Dahlia Lithwick
Posted Thursday, May 10, 2007, at 7:13 PM ET

Alberto Gonzales is in his happy place. He enters the hearing room in the Rayburn Building for his testimony before the House judiciary committee smiling the smile of a man who sleeps well each night, in the warm glow of the president's love. Gone is the testy, defensive Gonzales who testified last month before the Senate. Today's attorney general breezes into the chamber with the certain knowledge that having bottomed out in April, he has nothing left to prove. His only role in this scandal is as decoy: He's the guy who runs out in front of the hunters and draws their fire so nobody pays any attention to what's happening at the White House.

..........

Robert Wexler, D-Fla., finally loses his temper and starts hollering: "You did not select Iglesias for the list." (No). "Did Sampson select him?" (No). "Did Comey?" (No.) "Did McNulty?" (No.) Did the president? (No.) "Did the vice president? (No)." Then Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., follows up with one of the best queries of the day: "If you don't know who put Iglesias on the list, how do you know the president or the vice president didn't?"

Long silence. Pause. "They wouldn't do that," hems Gonzales. "The White House has said publicly that it was not involved in adding or deleting people from the list." Someone needs to tell that to Kyle Sampson. And as for Gonzales, he has made himself immortal by merely willing himself to be so. That must be what accounts for his Zenlike state today. It's an ingenious strategy. Instead of letting the president throw him under the bus to protect Karl Rove, Gonzales just lies down in the road, then giggles as the bus runs over his head.


more at:
http://www.slate.com/id/2165987/pagenum/all/#page_start

[C_U_L8R]

1. Gonzo is laughing at Congress

and I'm sure Rove Cheney Bush are too

And they are laughing at us

[havocmom]

2. 's OK. We will laugh last

They are putting the sitting duck out there looking calm. They are in panic mode back in the bunker.

[global1]

3. That's What Pisses Me Off More Than Anything - They Sit There.....

causing havoc the world over - breaking laws - and just laughing at us - because we're unable to touch them.

They've had plenty of time and experience (in the years they were out of office) to plan all that they are doing. Now they've used their offices to make and modify laws in order to provide a shield of protection - and they just thumb their nose up as us as they go about their way.

Think about this. They used it to get their way to go to war. They used it with the Patriot Act. * uses the 'signing statements'. The Plame scandal. Election fraud. Manipulation of the media. On and on and on.

And both the American people and Congress are most powerless to bring them down.

All we can hope for is that they screw up somewhere - and we catch them in a squeeze. Or better yet - somebody on the inside - either gets cold feet or a bolt of real patriotism and turns on them.

Otherwise - I'm afraid that we are stuck with this at least through the end of their (non-elected/stolen) term - or worse yet - beyond that - because they figured out a way to extend their control - by doing more of the same.

Did you notice that on some of the toughest questions yesterday - Gonzo - was actually amused and chuckling?

[Supersedeas]

9. he knows every syllable they spend questioning him, they are missing the real culprits--JUSTICE?

[On the Road]

4. I'm Warming to the Idea of Cabinet-Level Impeachments

and working up from there. There should be enough dirt on Gonzalez and dissatisfaction with his performance to have a good shot at removal from office.

[Missy Vixen]

7. Here's the question, though, and this is what DH and I were

talking about last night at home.

Who is going to try these SOB's?

There is nobody that outranks Bush, unfortunately. The Supreme Court will turn a blind eye. We can't even get the votes in Congress to defund the obscenity that's the war in Iraq. Where the hell will we go to get justice?

ABU laughs because he knows that nobody can force him to answer questions. They've defanged any consequences, fully and completely. I'm sorry if this is cynical, but I want to know -- who's going to try them? How can we get any justice in this matter when we can't even get answers to simple questions?

Do these Congresspeople have the courage to do what needs to be done --- appoint a good trial lawyer to take over their hearings and ARREST AND IMPRISON those who refuse to answer under oath?

Julie

[On the Road]

11. What I am Counting on is That Impeachment is Not Criminal Court

the standard is not "beyond a reasonable doubt." All that is necessary is for enough Senators to vote to remove from office. That can be done on the basis of the negative judgment that most Senators have already formed.

It has to be done carefully, but there's no reason intention has to enter into it. If there was widespread politicization at Justice, Gonzalez should go no matter what the conflicting details over who said what when. He is already on record emphatically repudiating his oath of office to serve the people rather than the president. More incriminating facts will undoubtedly come out with further testimony, and will only help matters.

Maybe the votes just aren't there. But it's well worth considering since Bush is not going to take action.

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. Can we send Gonzo to jail to compel him to testify?

Like they did to Susan McDougal?

[Vincardog]

6. He is not refusing he is disremembering

IF Alzheimer's was a crime RayGun would have been in jail.

[lovuian]

8. Congress is part of this and you see it before us

They not going to arrest or do anything

[emulatorloo]

10. well, the republicans are part on it. they do whatever bushco asks

but Leahy and Waxman and other Democrats are "part of this?"

I don't think so.