Updates with regards to the Plame Game scandal are far and few between — yes, you never hear about it, but the Bush White House is still under a criminal investigation — but it was encouraging to learn that Alberto Gonzales will not be involved with the investigation.
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales has stepped aside from the Justice Department investigation into the leak of an undercover CIA officer’s identity. Gonzales had been involved in the case as White House legal counsel, testifying before a federal grand jury and giving advice about it to White House personnel.
He recused himself shortly after he was sworn in as attorney general last week, Justice Department spokeswoman Tasia Scolinos said yesterday. Former attorney general John D. Ashcroft had also removed himself from any role in the investigation.
This was clearly a no-brainer. Gonzales has been a key part of this scandal for over a year, so the very idea that he could play a role in the investigation as the attorney general was a bit too much, even by this administration’s low standards. Besides, Gonzales had already given assurances to Senate Dems, before he was confirmed, that he’d formally recuse himself from the case.
That’s the good news. The bad news is we’re still looking for two more recusals in this matter.
Shortly after being sworn in, Gonzales demonstrated his “independence” from the Bush White House by immediately tapping three White House lawyers to be his top aides at the Justice Department.
Gonzales, confirmed Thursday, said during his confirmation hearings: “I will no longer represent only the White House, I will represent the United States of America and its people. I understand the differences between the two roles.”
But now comes word that Gonzales plans to name Ted Ullyot to be his chief of staff, D. Kyle Sampson as his deputy chief of staff, and Raul Yanes as counselor, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. All three have been lawyers in the White House counsel’s office under Gonzales.
These may not exactly be household names, but Ted Ullyot and Raul Yanes were chiefly responsible for shaping the White House’s response to the Plame Game investigation — which brings us to a pretty obvious conflict-of-interest problem.
We can’t have Ullyot and Yanes defending the White House from its ongoing criminal investigation one day, only to have the same two lawyers moving to the Justice Department, which is responsible for the investigation, the next day. If Gonzales’ recusal was a no-brainer, and it was, then similar recusals should be even more obvious for Ullyot and Yanes. Indeed, the fact that Gonzales has not already announced their recusals indicates we may have a problem here.
Fortunately, Reps. John Conyers and Henry Waxman are on the case, urging Gonzales to make the right call. We’ll see what happens.