Gonzales resigns

August 27, 2007

In March, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said, “I’m not going to resign. I’m going to stay focused on protecting our kids.” In June, he said promised to “sprint to the finish line” to “accomplish all the goals that are important to me.”

And now, Gonzales is walking away from the job he never should have been given in the first place.

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, whose tenure has been marred by controversy and accusations of perjury before Congress, has resigned. A senior administration official said he would announce the decision later this morning in Washington.

Mr. Gonzales, who had rebuffed calls for his resignation, submitted his to President Bush by telephone on Friday, the official said. His decision was not immediately announced, the official added, until after the president invited him and his wife to lunch at his ranch near here.

Mr. Bush has not yet chosen a replacement but will not leave the position open long, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the Attorney General’s resignation had not yet been made public.

Stay tuned.

Update: It’s hard not to laugh at this.

The official said that the decision was Mr. Gonzales’s and that the president accepted it grudgingly. At the same time, the official acknowledged that the turmoil over his tenure as Attorney General had made continuing difficult.

“The unfair treatment that he’s been on the receiving end of has been a distraction for the department,” the official said.

No, it wasn’t the AG’s criminal incompetence, breathtaking dishonesty, and multilpe scandals that “distracted” the Justice Department; it was Gonzales’ critics who had the audacity to point these problems out. Got it.

Second Update: ThinkProgres has a quote from CNN’s John King:

“This is the last of the Texans who came with President Bush to Washington in the close White House circle to have a senior job. Karen Hughes, of course, still at the State Department — she left and came back. But Karl Rove leaving recently, now Alberto Gonzales leaving as well. This President does not have the old Texas posse around him anymore.”

It’s tempting to think of Gonzales’ departure as another rat fleeing a sinking ship, but that’s probably the wrong metaphor here. Gonzales has been one of the guys drilling holes in the ship’s hull; the Bush gang is lucky to see him leave.

That said, the president is just about out of friends. Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld, Dan Bartlett, White House Political Director Sara Taylor, and White House Director of Strategic Initiatives Pete Wehner have all left since the midterm elections; Tony Snow is on his way out; and now Gonzales is leaving, too.

I never though he would do it. Saying that – what a fabulous way to start the week.

CB- I guess U.S. News’ Paul Bedard was right.

  • One black mark on American History ends with the resignation of Alberto “I Don’t Recall” Gonzales. What will the Loyal Bushie Brownshi(r)t Cabal do for an encore? I can’t wait to find out.

  • Wow! What a way to start the week, another rat leaving the sinking ship of the worst presidential administration in American history.

    Good riddance, Gonzo. You will NOT be missed.

  • What are the chances that the NY Times has bad information?

    It seems strange to me. How often does a single newspaper get a story so big and it is not confirmed anywhere else?

    Personally, I think Gonzales is the worst AG we have ever had but then I don’t remember Watergate well enough to be confident of that statement.

  • Holy #&@^. Yep, great way to start the week! The only frightening thing is that he might have resigned because Bush wanted him to sign off on a surveillance program that even he found deplorable…

  • Thought I was seeing things when this news hit the media…now I am worried about the fact that Alberto told Bush on Friday. Does anyone think there is any possibility that when the announcement of the resignation comes, there will also be an announcement of a recess apppintment?

    I will lose it if that’s what happens. Lose. It.

  • First Turd Blossom

    Now Fredo

    Who’s going to make it a trifecta for the month of August?

    Let’s just say I hope their name rhymes with “Lick Painy”

  • WHOOOOOOO!!!!!! Thank GOD!

    Now, what rocks are they looking under to find a replacement? Maybe King George will just leave the position open and lead the department himself. Karl Rove recently had some free time added to his calendar. Do you think they could find someone who is not in the “Bush family circle of trust”? Naw. I don’t either.

  • Quick! Name the replacement before Congress is back in session!
    Can’t have anyone responsible overseeing those wiretaps!

    Please Chertoff, make it Chertoff!
    By all means, wiretap approval needs to be based on gut feelings.

    Finally, thanks Al.
    The Democrats really didn’t want to impeach you. It was crystal clear you weren’t going to leave involuntarily.

  • A news worthy item on a Monday morning rather than late on Friday. Any significance to the change in strategy?

  • Well, if the announcement had come on Friday, it would have been Topic One on the Sunday shows, and the speculation would have been out of control.

    I’m just hoping that it wasn’t because they wanted to make a simulataneous announcement at a formal press conference that Alberto is out and Bush has recess-appointed someone like Chertoff.

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  • Dems must hold any nominees feet to the fire and allow no Junta Stooge to re-occupy the AG office.

  • In June, he said promised to “sprint to the finish line…”

    He did. That’s why he got there so quickly.

    Good riddance to bad rubbish.

  • Does anyone think there is any possibility that when the announcement of the resignation comes, there will also be an announcement of a recess apppintment?

    Wouldn’t surprise me, though the AG is a pretty high-profile position to try to fill this way. Previous recess appointments, like Bolton’s, were for less-prominent stuff. A recess-appointed AG would have no legitimacy, and not much credibility when defending BushCo against burgeoning scandals.

    The fact that Dubya’s posse of Texas cronies is mostly gone is notable. This administration, with over a year still to run, is pretty much over; Bush hasn’t the inclination or the capacity to initiate anything politically, and is just waiting to head back to Crawford. Unless they start another war in Iran, that is.

  • Is it me, or are the timing of Rove’s, and now Gonzo’s resignations as peculiar as they are sudden? Usually these sort of high profile resignations are carefully coordinated into a broader narrative. These 2 just suddenly up and quit.

    Obviously, Gonzo should have quit months ago, for too many reasons to mention. But a sudden Monday morning leak of his resignation makes me suspect a foot’s about to drop and someone’s going to go splat. By this point, it’s hard not to think that Rove’s and Gonzo’s resignations are closely related.

  • Anyone see the movie The Prestige? It highlights the stages of magic, detailing (hollywood style) how master magicians misdirect people into being tricked. One hand swooshes through the air, the other drops the marble. These guys are master manipulators of the media, choosing carefully when to release stories and then counting on the stenographer corps to be equally delighted by the Shiny Big Story. Is anyone looking for the marble?

  • I can’t think of a single person Bush would nominate who would have credibility – unless he deferred to the Democrats for a nominee – and the likelihood of that happening is about the same as me winning the Mega Millions lottery.

  • …..to “accomplish all the goals that are important to me.”

    Not the goals important to the country or even his department, but those *he* wanted to pursue.

    Not that I’m skeptical or suspicious (ha), but as Neil Wilson said, what are the chances they have bad information?
    And Neil, I *do* remember Watergate, and that Justice Department was pretty well named. I’m nostalgic for those days; even Nixon looks good to me now.

  • I expect to be disappointed, but I hope that this will free up his schedule and give him more time to testify before congress.

  • “By this point, it’s hard not to think that Rove’s and Gonzo’s resignations are closely related.” – JoeW

    Well, it is possible that month after month of approvals in the 30’s, a craptastic war, defecting GOP Congressmen, Congressional oversight, Wiretapping, torture, economic fraud, Halliburton, Everything Cheney does, etc. has caused the core of King George’s court to crumble. Nobody has been closer to W than Gonzo, except maybe Rove (gone!), or that suck up Karen Hughes (oh she’s gone too?).

    It could be W retreating to the castle keep after the walls have been breached. The question is, does he have an escape tunnel or can he hold out for another 16 months! Or maybe this is just a lighter more flexible “rapid response” executive branch that is cutting the weight of heavy equipment that has been slowing him down.

  • Hey! Hey!!! He still has to answer Leahy’s questions! Gonzales is not off the hook. This changes nothing. He owes the Judiciary Committee more testimony and he should still face purjury charges.

  • Now that Bedtime for Gonzo has transpired, ya think those Democrats in Congress who were conducting supposedly tough hearings will just smile and wave buh-bye?

    Alberto Gonzales broke numerous laws numerous times. He should be prosecuted.

  • A recess-appointed AG would have no legitimacy, and not much credibility when defending BushCo against burgeoning scandals.

    And the last one did?

    Gimme a break. If they can do it, they will.

  • Re: Hankster @ #17

    Using your analogy, I’d say that we are the canaries being crushed in the collapsible cage that are “disappearing.”

    Since, as Hankster suggests, I expect that none of us will accept at its face the official explanation given for Fredo’s departure or the reasons given for Rove’s and Snow’s departures (financial and family smokescreens), I submit that we are all conspiracy theorists, since the truth behind this mass desertion of the Loyal Bushie Brownshirt Cabal (LBBC) is shrouded in secrecy.

    Thus, we are only left only to theorize about the real reasons/motives that the LBBC has conspired to make these changes.

  • “By this point, it’s hard not to think that Rove’s and Gonzo’s resignations are closely related.” – JoeW

    I don’t know about Rove, but it could be that getting rid of Gonzo had to do with Dems stated intention to get back into the FISA business after recess. (Sounds funny, I know). The WH really wanted the AG to make decisions rather than the FISA court – the fact that Gonzo was AG was one of the things that pissed of Dem constituents. Just a though. Second guessing this admin is no way to make a living.

  • I misspoke in an earlier comment about Nixon’s Justice Department. I was thinking not of John Mitchell (Cheney Lite) and Bork, but of Archibald Cox, Elliott Richardson. and William Ruckelshaus. (Hey, I remember Watergate, I’m old, you can’t expect sharp memories.)

  • Gonzo did his best to follow Rove’s orders now that Karl is fleeing, the AG knew the gig was up…..

    now who will rat out who?

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  • Huh? What? Is it Friday already?

    Let’s see. Last week the DoJ found that the WH Office of Administration is not subject to FoIA. This week Abbie is GtFo. Could it be he knows there’s no way that will stand up in court? Is he tired of having his sleep broken by dreams of Leahy working him over with a subpoena? And most importantly, will Goner leave with a Presidential Pre-Pardon in his paw?

    Stay tuned!

    Also coming up: Bush blames it all on anti-Hispanic sentiment.

  • I didn’t like the guy, but compared to Alberrrrrto, John Mitchell was a combination of Einstein and John Marshall.

  • This is a sobering moment: Thank God he went to the DOJ instead of the Supreme Court, where he would have been all but impossible to get rid of. We’d be stuck with his combination of lies and fascist leanings for the next few decades.

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