ZetaTalk: Gonzales Saga
written Mar 26, 2007

For Gonzales, More Records, and Questions [Mar 24] http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/ An accumulating body of evidence is at odds with the statements of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales that he played little role in the deliberations over the dismissal of eight United States attorneys. Mr. Gonzales has said he did not take part in any discussions of the dismissal effort, and left the planning and execution of the removals up to D. Kyle Sampson, his former chief of staff. But e-mail messages and other documents released by the Justice Department in recent days suggest that Mr. Gonzales was told of the dismissal plan on at least two occasions, in 2005 when the plan was devised and again in late 2006 shortly before the firings were carried out.

We mentioned a year ago when the DoJ was investigating the NSA, and the FBI investigating the CIA, that Gonzales was very worried about this own skin. He has been close to Bush long enough to know the likely outcome if and when this presidency goes down. Watergate is an example. The President retired, and others went to prison. He is expected, as a long term friend of Bush who has benefited immensely from his association with Bush to be loyal and facilitate what Bush wants. On the other hand, he can see where his path is leading, and fears a prison term for himself. Gonzales has been attempting to trip through the mine field, keeping his integrity, avoiding giving testimony under oath in hopes that this muddies the water, avoiding direct responsibility for acts in hopes that this keeps him above the fray, all the while remaining a loyal Bushie in the eyes of Bush as such rewards as a Supreme Court justice position might lie in the future. Thus he has issued memos supporting torture, in the past, and been forced to defend his actions when questioned by Congress. Taking a page from Bush, you assign an underling to take the hit, along the lines that Cheney did with Libby. So when there are discussions about getting rid of Fitzgerald, whom Bush insisted should be fired, or removing the US attorneys who went after Duke Cunningham or were investigating Fogo's CIA bribery parties, then nervously give the nod, off the record, and leave the room!

Gonzales prevented Bush from firing Fitzgerald, something he angrily ordered ala Nixon, so where it looks as though Rove and Miers were having their way, in fact Gonzales long let them have a few crumbs! Giving in under pressure, he countered a promise to Congress, made under oath, to have all US Attorney's have Senate confirmation. Prior to the promise and after, there were discussions at the White House on how they could merrily fire a bunch of them, appointing whom they chose, with never an objection from Gonzales. It is this perjury that is the sticking point. Will the truth out in Congressional hearings? Yes, but not because Bush or Rove or Miers confess, but because the email is so convoluted that a trail can be laid out. As has been pointed out, it is often not the crime, but the handling of it that is the coup de grac. Clinton was not impeached because of sex, but because of a lie about his dalliance. Nixon was impeached because he attempted to obstruct justice, a coverup. Here, Gonzales has repeatedly made promises to Congress that he has not kept, and had no intention of keeping. Was Gonzales at the helm, causing these firings? He was certainly congnizant, and did nothing, apparently, to stop the process. The issue is intention or incompetence, and he is unlikely to be excused based on incompetence. Thus impeachment by Congress is the hand writing on the wall unless he resigns, which is likely.

ZetaTalk: GodlikeProduction Live, written May 13, 2006 on the live GodlikeProduction Radio show.

Q: Has Gonzales decided to go with integrity rather than what Bush wants him to do? The FBI is investigating the CIA. The DoJ is investigating the NSA. Why doesn't Bush just tell Gonzales to stop these investigations?

You've got the jist of it. He worries about his own skin. He worries about what's going to happen when inevitably they all get swept into the dock. It happened in Watergate. Where the Bush administration is heading is inevitable. Not just because the Congress is going to flip over. He worries about his own skin, about being pointed to and questioned, how many crimes did you participate in, and sitting in the clink. So to save his own skin, he is allowing proper investigations to be pursued and we don't expect him to flip back.