Impeach Alberto Gonzales

I signed the initial petition urging Senators to vote No on Alberto Gonzales and block his appointment to the Attorney General spot. It was clear even then that he didn't have the distance from the President needed to carry out equal justice, nor the ability to distinguish right from wrong, having been an endorse of the legal policy of torture that has damaged our moral stature. So it is with little surprise that we've come to this moment, where Abu G can lie to the Congress repeatedly; where he can simply refuse to answer questions without citing any privilege, basically telling a legal body "Eat me"; where he can continue his policy of firing US Attorneys, politicizing the Justice Department and acting as an arm of the White House and the Republican Party without accountability.

I mean, this is just a blatant lie:

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales testified yesterday that top congressional leaders from both parties agreed in March 2004 to continue a classified surveillance activity that Justice Department officials had deemed illegal, a contention immediately disputed by key Democratic lawmakers.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (W.Va.), who were briefed on the program at the time, said there was no consensus that it should proceed. Three others who were at the meeting also said the legal underpinnings of the program were never discussed.

"He once again is making something up to protect himself," Rockefeller said of the embattled attorney general.

This doesn't even approach telling the truth. He's asserting that Democrats agreed to a program when they didn't. It's easily refutable. Tom Daschle and Jane Harman said the same thing, that Gonzales is out of his mind suggesting this.

This is someone who was openly laughing at Congress during his hearing yesterday. He somehow thinks that being in the clear means being free to lie. I don't see how you could do anything but impeach this pathetic figure. And I don't think that would cost you with the American public; quite the opposite, anyone who defends this maroon will see their approval ratings tank. This is a total incompetent running the Justice Department, who has damaged that institution markedly. If anyone deserved a forced removal from office, it should be him.

And as I said yesterday, none of these investigations should stop until indictments are handed out, and a lot of pressure should be put on the next President not to pardon them.

Joseph Palermo gives a nice summation of Gonzales' crimes in office and why he, the "low-hanging fruit" (and boy is it low. It's on the ground), should be impeached.