It's about friggin' time! I am surprised in two ways: that he clung to power despite multiple scandals for so long, and that having hung in there all year he couldn't stay until the end of Bush's term, as many had speculated he would.
I wonder how this will effect various Congressional investigations? Maybe a special prosecutor will be appointed?
Posts: 6316 | Registered: Jun 2003
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I think they waited until enough time had passed after a Gonzales-related news cycle that they could say he was leaving on his own terms.
My teenage daughter does something similar - she won't start her homework until X minutes after the last time we've told her to start.
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Why Tom? Because of the likely temporary replacement, current Solicitor General Paul Clement?
I wonder if a deal was struck with Clement before the resignation/firing, to delay investigations as much as possible?
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"Alberto Gonzales decided to give me a great birthday present this year." - Chris, my supervisor.
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Word is that anyone in the adminstration after Labor Day will be there till the end of term. I think that, plus the encroaching investigations, plus the Daily Show and Colbert Report going on two-week vacation starting today all led to today's announcement.
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quote:Originally posted by Chris Bridges: Word is that anyone in the adminstration after Labor Day will be there till the end of term. I think that, plus the encroaching investigations, plus the Daily Show and Colbert Report going on two-week vacation starting today all led to today's announcement.
That theory would hold if "Real Time w/ Bill Maher" hadn't just started its new season. Posts: 3852 | Registered: Feb 2002
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How long can they go without a Congress-confirmed Attorney General?
I really didn't think that AG was going to step down from AG because I expect that impeachment procedings will soon follow anyone who could get past the current Congress getting access to what the DoJ and the White House have been up to the last 2 or 3 years.
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quote:Originally posted by Chris Bridges: Word is that anyone in the adminstration after Labor Day will be there till the end of term. I think that, plus the encroaching investigations, plus the Daily Show and Colbert Report going on two-week vacation starting today all led to today's announcement.
I've read about that Labor Day deadline as well. Plus, Congress is in recess so there's less reaction from Democrats than there would be last month or next month.
Mr. Squicky, maybe I need my morning caffeine infusion but I can't decipher the syntax of your last sentence. Are you saying Bush is bound to be impeached if the Firewall Formerly known as Gonzales resigned, or Gonzales' successor will be impeached, or what?
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Sorry, I was unclear. I believe Bush will very likely be impeached if Gonzales's successor needs to be confirmed by Congress and gets access to what has been going on in the last 2+ years.
I'm wondering how long they can go without having a confirmed AG and if it is long enough so that the person who gets in won't have enough time or, alternatively, if they'll have enough time to destroy the most damning evidence.
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So the question is, what will the reason be when he goes on the inevitable talk show circuit? To spend more time with his family? Or rehab?
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quote:Plus, Congress is in recess so there's less reaction from Democrats than there would be last month or next month.
Bush might appoint someone this week, which, according to one interpretation of the recess appointment clause, would keep Gonzales's successor in office until January 3, 2009 (when the next Congress is seated).
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So he resigned. The real question is if he's going to be able to *recall* if has resigned when he gets up in the morning about a month from now Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006
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I'd be surprised if Michael Chertoff were confirmed to be honest. John Edwards has already come out and said it's ridiculous to replace the guy who authored Guantanamo with the guy responsible for Katrina. Between that and Chertoff's support of the PATRIOT ACT, I really don't see Democrats going for it, and they can sink him.
If Bush does a recess appointment, he'd better be ready for the backlash. Congressional Democrats would be pissed. And frankly so would I, as I think it would be a blatent misuse of the Constitution. I know Democratic presidents have done it too, and I find those to be a misuse of the Constitution as well, as have Bush's past recess appointments where the appointments were made specifically to avoid the Senate. The point of that clause is to keep government moving by filling vacancies during long recesses of the Congress. It is not there to provide the Executive Branch a way to circumvent the Legislative Branch.
If Bush uses a recess appointment for Chertoff, I hope Democrats punish him for it, severely.
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quote:Originally posted by Mucus: So he resigned. The real question is if he's going to be able to *recall* if has resigned when he gets up in the morning about a month from now
Not under oath.
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: I'd be surprised if Michael Chertoff were confirmed to be honest. John Edwards has already come out and said it's ridiculous to replace the guy who authored Guantanamo with the guy responsible for Katrina. Between that and Chertoff's support of the PATRIOT ACT, I really don't see Democrats going for it, and they can sink him.
If Bush does a recess appointment, he'd better be ready for the backlash. Congressional Democrats would be pissed. And frankly so would I, as I think it would be a blatent misuse of the Constitution. I know Democratic presidents have done it too, and I find those to be a misuse of the Constitution as well, as have Bush's past recess appointments where the appointments were made specifically to avoid the Senate. The point of that clause is to keep government moving by filling vacancies during long recesses of the Congress. It is not there to provide the Executive Branch a way to circumvent the Legislative Branch.
If Bush uses a recess appointment for Chertoff, I hope Democrats punish him for it, severely.
<sigh> ...Because it would be so unlike him to abuse power that way... And the Democrats have done such a good job at standing up to him...
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From what I read, there are rumors that Harry Reid threatened to bring the Senate in on pro forma sessions to prevent a recess appointment and used that to levarage a non-recess appointment agreement from President Bush.
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Can you link that, Squick? I haven't seen more than headlines, and that kind of maneuvering always interests me.
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I don't know how solid this is. As I said, I regard it on the level with rumors.
It looks like, if such an agreement was reached, it was done in early August, so the AG post was possibly not on the radar.
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I hadn't heard about that measure to make the president pay for Air Force One flights on campaign trips. I think that's a fantastic idea for a law, and I'm not surprised at all that Bush would want to veto that. It's smart to wait for the Congress to come back into session so they can override a veto.
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The Democrats DEFINITELY need to insist that the Senate confirm the new AG--nobody should stand for another recess appointment, especially on a position so important.
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quote:Word is that anyone in the adminstration after Labor Day will be there till the end of term. I think that, plus the encroaching investigations, plus the Daily Show and Colbert Report going on two-week vacation starting today all led to today's announcement.
This is the first thing I thought, too, but more in a the-shows-are-going-to-be-so-annoyed way. Surely they (being the people involved in the resignation) can't have actually thought about this, can they?
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quote:The saddest part about this is that in a few weeks, he's not even going to remember being Attorney General. It's like a Flowers for Algernon situation.
quote:Word is that anyone in the adminstration after Labor Day will be there till the end of term. I think that, plus the encroaching investigations, plus the Daily Show and Colbert Report going on two-week vacation starting today all led to today's announcement.
This is the first thing I thought, too, but more in a the-shows-are-going-to-be-so-annoyed way. Surely they (being the people involved in the resignation) can't have actually thought about this, can they?
I doubt they actually planned it specifically around the Colbert Report and Daily Show (though I wouldn't blame them, since they really do have a rather large audience and tend to lambaste the Administration on a nightly basis).
More than likely it was planned for today because of the recess starting, and because as Josh Bolten said everyone who wanted out had to be out by Labor Day. I think it had more to do with the recess, and hoping to catch less flak from Congressional leaders (while keeping the door open for a recess appointment) than with Comedy Central, I'd say it was more of a coincidence.
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quote: "Alberto Gonzales is the first Attorney General who thought the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth were three different things."-- Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL):
quote:More than likely it was planned for today because of the recess starting, and because as Josh Bolten said everyone who wanted out had to be out by Labor Day. I think it had more to do with the recess, and hoping to catch less flak from Congressional leaders (while keeping the door open for a recess appointment) than with Comedy Central, I'd say it was more of a coincidence.
I don't know, I think the White House has more to fear from The Daily Show and The Colbert Report than they do from Congress.
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quote:More than likely it was planned for today because of the recess starting, and because as Josh Bolten said everyone who wanted out had to be out by Labor Day. I think it had more to do with the recess, and hoping to catch less flak from Congressional leaders (while keeping the door open for a recess appointment) than with Comedy Central, I'd say it was more of a coincidence.
I don't know, I think the White House has more to fear from The Daily Show and The Colbert Report than they do from Congress.
Indeed! And lets not forget the members of Congress probably watch the shows as well.
Though to be honest I really think it has more to do with congress being in recess, but those two shows could have WELL been taken into account.
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I really don't think the principals involved - Gonzales and Bush - gave either show a second thought, other than lumping them in with "the media." The adminstration's PR people might be more concerned, but I don't know how much pull they have if they let Bush's Viet Nam speech go through.
I am surprised this wasn't announced on a Friday afternoon though, that's usually when they try to bury stuff to miss most of the effective news coverage. A tactic which is less and less effective thanks to the Internet and the eternal news cycle.
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quote:Surely they (being the people involved in the resignation) can't have actually thought about this, can they?
As far as I can tell, every major Administration resignation in the last year has come on the first day of a Daily Show recess.
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Aaaaugh! "My family and I to begin...." *clutches head* Even in resignation, Gonzalez stuns me with his Not-Someone-Tom-Can-Respectness.
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Thanks for the links, Squicky. Interesting, even as rumors. If Gonzales's resignation is effective Sep. 17, then recess appointments aren't an issue, anyway.
My best guess is that Bush will appoint an outsider to the post - someone who can't answer any questions about the internal workings of justice. A state AG, judge, or big-time U.S. Attorney.
quote:Originally posted by Dagonee: Thanks for the links, Squicky. Interesting, even as rumors. If Gonzales's resignation is effective Sep. 17, then recess appointments aren't an issue, anyway.
My best guess is that Bush will appoint an outsider to the post - someone who can't answer any questions about the internal workings of justice. A state AG, judge, or big-time U.S. Attorney.
Just a guess.
This is EXACTLY what somebody who has been tapped to fill such a prestigious position would say.
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edit: this was independent of Dag's recess post above, not a response to it/edit
Congress will be back in session Sept. 8. And Gonzales' letter says his resignation is effective Sept 17. So I think that makes a recess appointment impossible?
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Yeah, it totally will be an outsider appointed AG. Any high level DoJ official would be raked over the coals in confirmation.
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Any high level Administration official at all would be raked over the coals, it doesn't matter what department.
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True, but a DoJ official might have juicy info that various Congressional committees have been digging into for months/years. This would make the confirmation hearings very uncomfortable for the nominee and the administration. They have to pick someone outside the department, or at least outside of the beltway like a US attorney like Dag guessed.
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The White House is seemingly saying they are going to nominate Michael Chertoff. I don't see that one working out for them, but I've underestimated the pusillanimity of the Democrats in Congress before, so who knows?
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quote:Originally posted by Dagonee: My best guess is that Bush will appoint an outsider to the post - someone who can't answer any questions about the internal workings of justice.
Hmm. I wonder what Harriet Meyers is up to lately?
Posts: 3852 | Registered: Feb 2002
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I can't tell if that's a trial balloon or someone is jumping the gun in reporting that one. From the Post:
quote:Potential candidates mentioned by officials on Capitol Hill or within the administration yesterday include former solicitor general Theodore B. Olson; homeland security adviser Frances Fragos Townsend; Asa Hutchinson, former head of the Drug Enforcement Administration; and Larry D. Thompson, who served as deputy attorney general during Bush's first term. Officials largely dismissed speculation about Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff as a possible replacement, noting that such a move could lead to two contentious confirmation hearings -- one for him and one for his replacement.
I don't consider any of that more reliable than the reports you're referring to, of course. Just throwing the additional information out there.
Someone with actual law enforcement experience (which would include Department of Justice experience) would be a nice thing to consider for the country's chief law enforcement officer.
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Fox News posited Orin Hatch as a possible replacement as he has a legal background (Head of the Senate Judiciary committee) and is very friendly with the Bush Administration. He is certainly one of the more prominant Republicans around.
But that's just speculation, though I wouldn't put it past Hatch to be thinking about tugging some strings.
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Here in Chicago, we are speculating on the very long shot of Patrick Fitzgerald. It isn't likely, but it would be nice.
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The administration might well run into the same problem they did with the War Czar opening: a lack of qualified candidates willing to take the job.
quote: Officials largely dismissed speculation about Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff as a possible replacement, noting that such a move could lead to two contentious confirmation hearings -- one for him and one for his replacement.
This makes sense to me--Chertoff would have an uphill battle for his confimation, plus the one for his replacement. It just doesn't seem like a wise choice.
My guess is the most likely candidates are either Hatch or another senator or ex-senator.
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quote:Chertoff would have an uphill battle for his confimation, plus the one for his replacement. It just doesn't seem like a wise choice.
Alternatively, if they could win both appointments, it would deal a possibly fatal blow to the Democratic party.
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It might weaken the Dems, but not fatally. But why should Bush gamble on winning? Hasn't he lost enough gambles to want a safer path?
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What does he have to lose? He's a lame duck, all his people are abandoning him, and the thing he's built his presidency around, the Iraq war, is in a shambles. The only people left on his side now aren't ever going to stop supporting him. If an honest person who cares about serving the people and not just the President gets confirmed as AG, things will be scaled back at the least, and there's a very real possibility that he will get impeached. The one thing he has going for him is that his opponents are the Democrats. Why not gamble on them folding?
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quote: If an honest person who cares about serving the people and not just the President gets confirmed as AG, ... there's a very real possibility that he will get impeached
I think you're making a HUGE leap here.
For one there are many, many, many honest people who care about serving the people and not just the President who do not see impeachment as either desirable or deserved.
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