Already searching for Gonzales’ successor

March 20, 2007

At this point, it’s a matter of “when,” not “if.”

The White House began floating the names of possible replacements for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Monday as the Justice Department released more internal documents related to the firings of eight U.S. attorneys last year.

One prominent Republican, who earlier had predicted that Gonzales would survive the controversy, said he expected both Gonzales and Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty to resign soon. Another well-connected Republican said that White House officials have launched an aggressive search for Gonzales’ replacement, though President Bush hadn’t decided whether to ask for his resignation.

Support for Gonzales appeared to be collapsing under the weight of questions about his truthfulness and his management ability.

What’s more, The Politico reported, “Republican officials operating at the behest of the White House have begun seeking a possible successor to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, whose support among GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill has collapsed, according to party sources familiar with the discussions.”

The New York Daily News, meanwhile, reported that some administration officials said Gonzales’ departure is inevitable. “Gonzales is going to have to resign soon,” a senior Republican said. “The only reason it hasn’t happened already is Bush’s personal reluctance. He’s the guy who has to call him and tell him he has to leave…. [Bush] wants to fight, but that will change because it has to.”

It’s worth remembering, particularly now, that Gonzales’ ouster will not make the scandal go away.

The Politico’s Mike Allen noted:

In a sign of Republican despair, GOP political strategists on Capitol Hill said that it is too late for Gonzales’ departure to head off a full-scale Democratic investigation into the motives and timing behind the firing of eight U.S. attorneys.

“Democrats smell blood in the water, and (Gonzales’) resignation won’t stop them,” said a well-connected Republican Senate aide. “And on our side, no one’s going to defend him. All we can do is warn Democrats against overreaching.”

I think this is absolutely right. The moment Gonzales steps aside — no doubt citing the “distractions,” not actual wrongdoing — we’ll hear calls for the Dems to call off the dogs. “You brought down an Attorney General,” congressional Republicans will say. “Now let’s move on.”

Except it’s too late for that. We don’t yet know just how high up the scandal will go, but it’s already clear that Gonzales is not at the top of the pyramid here.

We need a new Attorney General, but that’s not all we need.

Post Script: And who’ll replace Gonzales? U.S. News reports that the White House would look for “a seasoned insider, a consummate veteran or an elder statesman who has bipartisan respect and acceptance and a squeaky-clean record.” Said one former official, “The trouble is that no one comes to mind.”

Among those rumored to be under consideration to replace Gonzales are Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, Security and Exchange Commission Chairman Chris Cox, former Solicitor General Theodore B. Olson, retired federal judge Laurence H. Silberman, former deputy attorney general George J. Terwilliger III, former Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson, former Sen. Fred Thompson, and White House anti-terrorism adviser Fran Townsend.

Some of those names would probably be confirmed by the Senate fairly easily. Others (most notably Silberman) would not. Stay tuned.

My guess as to the new AG is Larry Thompson, for a whole bunch of reasons. He can be confirmed. He is a pro. He is a GOP loyalist. He doesnt have the baggage of an Olsen or others.

  • After six full years of the unending bulllshit and outright criminality of the Bush “administration” I am now aware of the meaning of the term “scandal fatigue”.

  • Well, that really drags down all those conservative commentators’ claims that nothing that was done was wrong, doesn’t it?

  • Democrats need to keep the investigative pressure on and resist pressure to “call off the dogs”. One network newscast said Gonzales is heading out the door because of “incompetence” – no, it’s the obstruction and perversion of justice exhibited in the move to eliminate a “problem” in San Diego and in the pressure to indict Democrats for apparently non-existent “voter fraud” New Mexico. Senators Leahy and Schumer and Representative Conyers must continue to shine the light on the wrongdoing in the Justice Department AND the White House so that even the corporate media cannot ignore it.

  • BTW – the author of this is Mike Allen, to whom I’ve referred in the past as a Bush Court Stenographer (not to the Barnes level, but still). He got the first post-2006 election interview with Karl Rove and is highly regarded by the Administration. I would be shocked if this story doesn’t pan out.

    ps – has KLO started calling for Rick Santorum to get the post yet? That should happen any minute now.

  • I think Bush/Cheney is in a pickle. They need an AG who’s ideologically compatible with their unitary executive delusions and various acts of lawlessness, not only to continue their agenda but to cover their butts for past abuses. Such a nominee isn’t likely to pass Senate confirmation. So while there may be pressure to dump Gonzales, there’s some logic to try and to ride this out if possible.

  • i think beep52 has a good point. any attorney general with any kind of integrity would never play the games that bush’s ag’s have had to play. and any candidate who wasn’t squeeky clean at this point wouldn’t likely be confirmed.

  • I think the media will be pushing hard for the scandal to end once Gonzales’ head is firmly on the plate, partly because they were the ones who missed this story in the first place, and partly because they are so dang “liberal”.

    The RWNM will also be clamoring for us to “move on”, but of course they should still be looking at all the illegal programs that Gonzales was operating, at the explicit direction of those higher up (and there aren’t too many higher ups).

  • If Bush were smart he’d go for a squeaky clean AG and try to make something of the remainder of his term in office. But that’s fantasy. I’m tempted to defy all the pundits and suggest the possibility of just sticking it out with Abu Gonzo, thus retaining a proven toady and avoiding the publicity attendant on finding a replacement, but I don’t know. Behind it all lurks the truism that, like Midas, Bush fucks up everything he touches. The only mystery is how he’ll accomplish that in this instance..

  • When Ted Olson is cast as an elder statesman receiving bipartisan respect, you know we’ve hit bottom.

  • [Bush] wants to fight, but that will change because it has to.

    Where have we heard this “has to” construction before? Oh, yeah, it was Bush saying the surge will work “because it has to.”

    Gonzales may last longer than many are expecting, because (a) Bush likes him, (b) as beep52 notes above, they need somebody like him in that slot and they aren’t likely to get that in his replacement, and finally (c) given the dire situation for the administration, there’s little leverage to force them to give in on this.

    To elaborate on (c), we’re rapidly approaching the point where it all becomes a question of whether or not the Dems are willing to impeach, and if they can succeed if they try. The administration’s domestic agenda is dead, and foreign policy largely consists of keeping troops in Iraq no matter what else happens. The Dems having already blinked and admitted they won’t defund the troops, there’s nothing else that can be used as a club over the administration to force it to do anything.

  • jimBOB hits the nail on the head, i think. given all the scandalous behaviour of the bush white house, and their extreme reluctance to tell the truth even when it doesn’t make them look really bad, it’s just a matter of time before this whole thing spirals downward until the only real choice is impeachment. it is beginning to look like the msm is being forced to report on stories they would have ignored or buried a few months ago, so i think the clamour for impeachment will continue to grow as more and more americans become more impatient with this president.

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