Gonzales' resignation termed 'inevitable'
By: TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer | ∞
The firing of nine U.S. attorneys, including San Diego's lead federal prosecutor, set the stage for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' resignation, several analysts and local politicians said Monday.
Former interim San Diego U.S. Attorney Charles La Bella, who served his term in office under former Attorney General Janet Reno in the late 1990s, said he thought Gonzales' departure was "inevitable."
"It is remarkable that it has taken so long," he said.
La Bella said getting rid of former San Diego U.S. Attorney Carol Lam and eight others landed Gonzales on the hot seat. Revelations made in the ensuing investigation led to demands for Gonzales' resignation, he said.
San Diego found itself in the middle of a controversy when word leaked out in January that U.S. Attorney Carol Lam had been asked to resign. Many, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., argued that Lam's firing was tied to her pursuit of political corruption cases, including the successful prosecution of North County Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham on bribery charges.
On Monday, many agreed that Gonzales' failure to give Congress clear answers to questions about whether the firings of Lam and others were politically motivated was the beginning of the end for the attorney general.
During his testimony before House and Senate committees earlier this year, Gonzales repeatedly said he did not know the answers to questions posed to him by Congress.
"There were several occasions, we kept saying, 'Look, make it as plain and simple as you can,' " said U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, whose district covers parts of coastal North County and Temecula. "On many occasions, he chose to use fine points of words that left the meaning unclear."
The firings, Issa said, "could have been easily explained in plain English, but at the end, they (Department of Justice officials) were less clear, not more clear."
Issa said Gonzales' effectiveness was compromised in the wake of his testimony earlier this year.
Critics of Gonzales accused him of lying to Congress and politicizing his department.
"I very much believe he made the right decision to move on for the good of the office," said Issa, R-Vista, who sits on the House Judiciary Committee.
Lam spent 4 1/2 years as the federal government's top prosecutor in San Diego and was in charge when her office convicted Cunningham for taking $2.4 million in bribes.
Lam, who focused on bringing down white-collar criminals during her time at the office helm, also was also in charge when three members of San Diego City Council were accused of corruption.
A former top official at the Justice Department testified to Congress in March that Lam was asked to resign because of a problem with her immigration prosecutions and not because her office pursued the Cunningham case.
Lam is now an attorney with San Diego based Qualcomm. She did not return a call for comment Monday.
Thomas Jefferson School of Law professor David Steinberg said the probe of how Gonzales ran the department would not have occurred had it not been for the firestorm caused by the firings of Lam and eight other prosecutors.
"The absolutely critical fact that got him into trouble was the decision to remove the U.S. attorneys," Steinberg said.
Other area congressmen released statements that they were supportive of Gonzales decision to resign,
U.S. Rep. Brian Bilbray's office said the congressman respects Gonzales decision to resign.
"Hopefully, we can all move forward and focus on the future," Bilbray, R-Solana Beach, said in a statement released to the press.
Congressman and Republican presidential hopeful Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon, said in a written statement that he appreciated Gonzales' service, and "believes his leadership, especially with respect to conducting the war on terror from a legal position, has helped keep the American people safe."
-- Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.
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Sherman wrote on Aug 28, 2007 4:12 AM:Gonzales made some mistakes and probably fibbed a little. That goes on in Washington all the time. I do think that we should expect more from our chief law enforcement officer, however. Janet Reno was probably our lousiest AG, especially with the Waco incident and sending tanks onto private property and precipitating the mass killings there. Of course, Clinton got his media bye on that one, like he usually did, and his wife still does.
Skip wrote on Aug 28, 2007 7:38 AM:Where is the Hispanic Outrage? Where are the cries of racism? There is none. Alberto got fired because he was the presidents "Yes man", and I do not think too many people care.
Good Riddance wrote on Aug 28, 2007 8:01 AM:"First's" who were a dissappointment to their ethnic community: Spiro Agnew--crooked Vice President under Nixon; Alberto Gonzales--incompetent, liar,"yes man" to George W. Bush They both disgraced themselves and had to slink away.
Gonzo"s wrote on Aug 28, 2007 8:15 AM:Gone but not forgotten. His crimes will still be there for investigation. He cannot recall anything he said or did on the job but others will. RD
cts wrote on Aug 28, 2007 8:23 AM:The fact that Bush still thinks that his resignation was uncalled for just shows that the real problem lies with Bush himself. To think that so many people voted for his re-election. I think he will go down in history as one of the worst presidents in our history.
Randy wrote on Aug 28, 2007 8:25 AM:It will take years, if not decades, for our system of government to recover from the damage sustained under this Attorney General. The jury is out on whether our system of checks and balances will long endure after the incessant attacks of the Bush administration.
Stephen wrote on Aug 28, 2007 8:27 AM:Alberto Gonzales is and was not an American. He was a proven liar and a trader to this country as well as an apologist for a president set on destroying the soverignty of this nation for no other reason than greed. He was instrumental in the improper prosecution of our nations border patrol agents and other law inforcement officers. Instead of seeing that our laws were correctly applied for the people of the United States he was a tool for a elitist internationalist who like his father before him cares nothing for America and those who have worked to make this a great nation. He refused to equally apply the laws of this land in a fair and impartial manner. Electing instead to burden citizens with heavy handed tactics while refusing to prosecute illigal immigrants and those who hire and explote them. This county is far better of with this enemy of America gone and he should go back to the land he is loyal to, which is not the United States.
es, We Care, and Glad He's Gone wrote on Aug 28, 2007 8:38 AM:Gonzales also called provisions of the Geneva Convention for the treatment of prisoners "quaint" and rewrote the rules on the torture of prisoners, uh no, detainees. Such a finite Republican mind. Won't miss him.
oside res wrote on Aug 28, 2007 8:39 AM:we are watching a regime change!! Rove, Gonzales, Rumsfeld,not to mention wolfowiz...Between this and all the sex scandals the republicans are going through right now, the country has a chance of getting back on target..Its time to get back to reasoning with people instead of pushing our ideas on them that have no basis in fact. These people are all liars and use ideas not facts to support their views...what a disgrace to our great nation. Its time to move foward to reconciliation with the rest of the world and dig ourselves out of this hole the neocons dug for all of us.
o2cool1 wrote on Aug 28, 2007 8:47 AM:Goodbye , good riddance and don't let the door hit you on your way out.
Papi wrote on Aug 28, 2007 8:50 AM:What a wasted opportunity. I'm not a 'lil Bush fan, but one thing I've respected is his willingness to put minorities in key positions. And what does Gonzales do with this wonderful opportunity to not only represent his nation (which is the most important part), but to also represent his ethnicity and serve as an example to disenfranchised people of color? He screws it up. Way to crumble under the microscope, Albertito. We cry and cry about not having a seat at this country's power table, we finally get one, and our guy plays up to the stereotype of corrupt Latin American government officials. Wasted talent.
Independent wrote on Aug 28, 2007 10:28 AM:It's laughable how some will justify Gonzo's incompetence by invoking the questionable actions of past AGs. Dubya's excessive reliance on his cronies is proving to be another of his many weaknesses.
Bush's Joke wrote on Aug 28, 2007 11:07 AM:Another total screw up of little moronic bush. I bet bush can't wait for all of this to end so he can go to texas and pick weeds.
Patrick wrote on Aug 28, 2007 11:39 AM:Too little too late, the damage has been done. Lam and others are not getting their jobs back, political objective achieved! Gonzales can pay the price for Bush's wrangling, a very small price.
No more Bush wrote on Aug 28, 2007 11:47 AM:2012 Jeb Bush runs for office of the president....DON'T let that happen.
El Guero wrote on Aug 28, 2007 11:54 AM:So what's the big deal that the prosecutor firings 'could have been easily explained in plain English,' but weren't? Maybe that's because English is Alberto's second language. But the firings (and their cover up) were only the last straw. Even more troublesome were Alberto's late-night gestapo tactics in trying to get then-Attorney General John Aschcroft, who lay gravely ill in a hospital bed, to sign a reauthorization of Bush's illegal surveillance program.
Sad Days are Ahead wrote on Aug 28, 2007 12:43 PM:Bush is nothing more than a dry drunk with an inflated sense of self-importance. He and his cronnies have set back world relations thousands of years by their ignorance and avarice.
Concerned-1 wrote on Aug 28, 2007 12:47 PM:Man, have the republicans made a mess of things! How could any political party screw things up more than these hypocritical thugs? Oh wait, here come the Democrats. (With a apologies to Sonnie and Cher) And the beat goes on...
Citizen X wrote on Aug 28, 2007 1:40 PM:At least no hammerhead sharks were hurt by Gonzo.
Old MCRD Gunny wrote on Aug 28, 2007 4:08 PM:I understand that Judge Gonzales, like his boss, does not drink. You know, I think Bush and Gonzales would have done better drunk. "Crack me another MGD bar keep!"
Evil Four-some: wrote on Aug 28, 2007 4:31 PM:Two of the most evil men in America (Rove and Gonzales) are (or will be) gone. Two left to go-- Bush and Cheney. Congress needs to keep up the investigations and the pressure on, no matter where it leads. And we all know where that is. These people claim to be so high and mighty and moral. Well guys, your morals are in the toilet! The nation cannot be rid of this four-some soon enough.
Mike wrote on Aug 28, 2007 5:03 PM:Another victim of the evil liberal media.
to Sherman wrote on Aug 28, 2007 6:54 PM:Gonzales "fibbed a little" and I guess that Katrina was just a little rain storm.
TRUNK BIRD wrote on Aug 28, 2007 7:40 PM:Another Bush crony bites the dust. Rumsfeld, Rove, and many others including Michael Brown, ex-head of FEMA. Remember Bush saying to Brown, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job!" right after Katrina? Now Gonzalez, undoubtedly the biggest goof ball in the squalid history of the Bush presidency. Pathetic in the extreme.
Going Going Gone wrote on Aug 28, 2007 8:12 PM:More Bushies out. Thank God. Intersting how Gonzo said the Geneva Convention was quaint and he took a page from the Nazi's when they said the same thing. Funny how the Bush Admin looks more and more like previous history. Let's take back America and get rid of all these Bush losers. Hallelujah!
Mike, Oceanside wrote on Aug 28, 2007 8:17 PM:I agreeded with most of the comments, they're right on the point. Both Rove and Gonzalez should had gone long time ago, but unfortunately the president would be lost with out these two. The blind leading the blind. Dick is no better, he's probably the one who missed direct George, its a shame,when you don't have the knowledge, youy have to depend on someone who knows nothing. Congress ought to keep the presure on this case, and bring all of them down.
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