Alberto Gonzales: I’ll Cooperate With Probe Of Bush Years
This seems significant. Dave Weigel of The Washington Independent caught up with former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales at a forum today, and asked him whether he’d cooperate with the commission proposed by Senator Patrick Leahy to probe the Bush administration’s alleged lawbreaking.
Take it away, Gonzo:
“My view has always been to be as cooperative as possible,” said Gonzales, “and that’s what I’ve been with respect to everything. As far as I’m concerned I’ve got nothing to hide and I’ll cooperate. Every time I’ve been asked to cooperate, I’ve cooperated. In terms of what happens in the future, I’m not going to comment on that, but that is what I’ve done in the past.”
Gonzales went further: “I think only a fool would be unconcerned about any kind of commission or investigation in this political town and in this political climate. Having said that, again, because I feel like I’ve got nothing to hide and I’ve done nothing wrong, I’m not worried about the truth, so long as what we’re talking about is the truth and things don’t become politicized.”
Obviously Gonzo couldn’t have answered this question with, “Cooperate? No bleep-ing chance. Now beat it.” But still, he’s on record now, so that’s something.
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Of course his previous cooperation was a series of “I don’t remember that” answers. I don’t think he would have gained anything by admitting he will do the same thing again. And I really don’t believe he will be revealing anything we don’t already know. The question is will there even be an investigation.
sg, agreed, that’s the question. it’s my sense that the more that is said publicly about the possibility, the more pressure there will be.
It’s a little hard to parse. At first Gonzo says:
That sounds relatively clear: he won’t of his own initiative refuse to cooperate. (Though arguably the “[a]s far as I’m concerned” is a caveat and he might heed e.g. a request from Bush not to cooperate on executive privilege grounds or whatever. It depends on whether that applies to “I’ve got nothing to hide” only or to the whole sentence.)
.
But he goes on to say:
In other words, he is insisting that his previous words — verb tenses notwithstanding — referred to the past. He’s been such a cooperative guy in the past (in his own view anyway), but as to whether he will cooperate with Leahy’s probe, no comment.
Greg:
it’s my sense that the more that is said publicly about the possibility [of an investigation], the more pressure there will be.
I agree 100%.
O sure, Abu is happy to lie, any time, anywhere.
And he’ll smirk while he’s doing it – for free!
Asking Gonzales to cooperate serves no purpose. He should be a target, along with Rove, Cheney, Yoo, Bybee, Bush and Meirs. The pressure should be a step or two lower.
Well I saw some other places that evidently Speaker Pelosi thinks there will be prosecutions of some Bush officials but I guess we just have to wait and see.
Did Gonzales cooperate in the past? I don’t recall.
@t.a.m.s.y.:
Neither does he. The man is like an etch-a-sketch.
Timeline to Gonzales Resignation
1. Trent James Stewart of Omaha, Nebraska sends US Senator Chuck Hagel information that union thugs in Omaha, in particular fire fighters and their associates at the local Sprint PCS office are illegally eavesdropping on his conversations and used these wiretaps to have him arrested in 1999.
2. Hagel contacts FBI office in Washington on Stewart’s behalf. FBI contact Stewart notifying him they are not wiretapping him nor are the “benefiting” from the information.
3. Hagel and Stewart become frequent pen pals after Judge makes Stewart a deal to keep him from going to trial and exposing the wiretap operations used in Omaha by police and local feds including GOP.
4. Hagel wants war in Iraq, tells Stewart so in writing, and says he will sign on to Bush plan for war. Stewart responds he has his own war for survival in Omaha and needs federal help to enforce the ECPA laws already in existence. Warns Hagel they are spying on everyone, not just Stewart. Later warns Hagel justice system has been subverted and to avoid taking lie detector test as it is a scam.
5. Osama Bin Laden attacks the United States on September 11, 2001. Overnight, every fire fighter in America, even the gangland thugs in Omaha become instant heroes. No politician in his right mind would now butt heads with the IAFF and their “heroes”. Hagel abandons Stewart like he were an ARVN in 1975 in Vietnam.
6. Stewart survives assassination attempt after attempt in Omaha and recalls events from his childhood previously forgotten from the stress. Stewart recalls Nebraska Republican serial rapist Harold John “Hal” Daub and his heroin trafficking as well as similar crimes committed by Omaha Police.
7. Stewart proves to himself his Daub memories were memories and not nightmares as PTSD takes control of his life. He begins to be stalked by rapist police officer at OPD once again. Stewart, by coincidence, encounters Daub at Sons of Italy dining hall in Omaha as Daub campaigns for reelection to mayor of Omaha. Daub previously served four terms in Congress. Daub flees Stewart in crowded dining hall in front of hundreds of people proving Daub fears the man who mother he tried to rape as a child and whom he tortured when 7 years old.
8. Stewart simultaneously contacts via anonymous encrypted email every US Senator following Daub’s failed reelection attempt and George W. Bush’s sudden nomination of Daub to his Administration. Stewart also contacted the FBI whom he did not trust providing all the identities of three Daub rape victims and details of Daub’s crimes. No reply was ever received. Daub is confirmed by the US Senate to his highest public office yet.
9. Stewart contacts Hagel, Nebraska AG Jon Bruning, US AG Alberto Gonzales, and Director Eli Rosenbaum notifying them of Daub’s crimes in writing and his ties to former Nazis from Germany living in Omaha and raping, poisoning, and brainwashing children to build a Fourth Reich. Info was sent to Gonzales at one his lesser offices, not directly to his main office.
10. Some weeks later, Gonzales fires nine federal prosecutors. George W. Bush had sent letter to Stewart in 2003 and again in 2004 thanking him for his “kind words”.
11. Stewart, in dismay, sent the same information to the same individuals once again, this time via US Certified mail. He had to sell his blood plasma to get the funds to send the information as he had been blackballed from the working world for years and run out of the IUEC where he resigned after belonging just a short time.
12. Several weeks after sending the information via Certified mail, the scandal broke and later Gonzales resigned. Stewart then sent the information to the Omaha Police Division via Certified mail. He previously had tried to deliver it by hand but was ambushed in the lobby of the police station and fled before doing so. He also sent the information to the Omaha World Herald at the same time. Previously, he had sent the information to Washington Post and New York Times. No press agency responded nor did Omaha police.
13. Hagel announced he would not seek reelection.
For more on this ongoing struggle to bring a Republican serial rapist and heroin pusher to justice, visit USENET @alt.firefighters.binaries and look for the abbreviated version entitled “Boycott Nebraska” or the full story entitled “The Full Monte: The Struggle To Bring a Republican Serial Rapist To Justice”.
14. Daub was quietly removed from the Bush Administration and returned to Omaha where rape is legal if you are a Republican. Heroin trafficking to children, too. Stewart regained his right to vote along with millions of other Americans thanks to the League of Women Voters and their successful effort to regain voting rights for convicted felons. He became a Democrat, needles to say.
Hal Daub should be investigated by the Obama Administration Attorney General because now we have open government.
I challenge the President!
I challenge the Attorney General!
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