Shortly after James Comey’s wild story about the showdown in John Ashcroft’s hospital room first captured the attention of the political world, the Center for American Progress’ Peter Swire, the Clinton Administration’s Chief Counselor for Privacy from 1999 to early 2001, noticed a problem: Alberto Gonzales may have lied under oath about it.
In a 2006 hearing, when Chuck Schumer asked Gonzales about Comey’s objections to the NSA’s warrantless search program, Gonzales denied there was any “serious disagreement about the program.” He added, specifically in response to a question about Comey, that there were also no “reservations” about the program.
Since the showdown in Ashcroft’s hospital room would be difficult for even Gonzales to forget, and the disagreement nearly led to the resignations of as many as 30 top Justice Department officials, Swire saw one of two possibilities:
1) Comey’s objections apply to the NSA warrantless wiretapping program that Gonzales was discussing. If so, then Gonzales quite likely made serious mis-statements under oath. And Gonzales was deeply and personally involved in the meeting at Ashcroft’s hospital bed, so he won’t be able to claim “I forgot.”
2) Perhaps Comey’s objections applied to a different domestic spying program. That has a big advantage for Gonzales — he wasn’t lying under oath. But then we would have senior Justice officials confirming that other “programs” exist for domestic spying, something the Administration has never previously stated.
So, which was it? Reporters have been trying to find out, but neither Gonzales nor anyone at the White House has been willing to say a word about the incident Comey described.
That is, until yesterday, in a little-noticed comment that actually shed some light on the subject.
Ryan Powers noted an important exchange from a brief press conference Gonzales hosted after a DoJ event.
QUESTION: Mr. Attorney General, last month, Jim Comey testified about a visit you and Andy Card made to John Ashcroft’s hospital bed. Can you tell us your side of the story? Why were you there? And did Mr. Comey testify truthfully about it? Did he remember it correctly?
GONZALES: Mr. Comey’s testimony related to a highly classified program which the president confirmed to the American people sometime ago. And, because it’s a highly classified program, I’m not going to comment on his testimony. (emphasis added)
Oops. There’s only one highly classified surveillance program that the president confirmed the American people sometime ago.
Which means, of course, that when Gonzales testified under oath about possible disagreements within the Justice Department, he wasn’t telling the truth.
Bring on the no-confidence vote … and the impeachment resolution.