Gonzo gets a job! At a college!

Texas Tech has hired Alberto Gonzales. From TPM Muckraker:

The press release, which says Gonzales will work as both a recruiter and teach a junior-level course on "contemporary issues in the executive branch," makes no mention of Gonzo's involvement in the U.S. attorneys scandal (among other things) or his subsequent resignation. Instead, it ends with, "...and later was appointed Attorney General."

Nice.

Specifically, Gonzales will be responsible for "recruiting and retaining first generation and underrepresented students," and will help plan a leadership training program for minority and first generation students at both Texas Tech and Angelo State University. In addition to his class, he'll also guest lecture for other courses.

"His own upbringing in Houston as part of a migrant family with eight children makes him qualified to tell underrepresented Texas students that college is possible," said Kent Hance, chancellor of Texas Tech. "He will help Texas Tech and ASU prepare our students for success and to be future leaders in the State of Texas and beyond."

Oh sweet Jaysus in a speedo. Gonzo will help prepare students for success? LMFAO!

graphic filched from Kvatch.

To hope, to dream...

Dreams of an Alberto Gonzales, rotting in a prison cell.

Ok, at least squirming on the stand, on trial for breaking the law...any law will do for me when it comes to this fuckwit extraordinaire.

Rachel gives us the latest on Berto.



Photo courtesy of Kvatch.

More underhanded bs from Gonzo comes to light..

From Jason Leopold's new website, The Public Record or TPR, we get this newest fresh hell:

Curiously, the Justice Department, which at the time was headed by John Ashcroft, officially launched the investigation on September 26, 2003, but Ashcroft waited more than three days before notifying Gonzales and the White House, whose high-level staffers were reported to be responsible for disseminating Wilson's affiliation with the spy agency to the media just two-and-a-half months earlier.

Gonzales asked the DOJ if he could wait until morning before notifying White House staffers about the probe, thereby delaying the issuance of a directive to preserve emails and other documents related to the leak of Wilson's undercover status federal investigators would need as part of their investigation.
The DOJ agreed.

But after Gonzales hung up the telephone, he immediately contacted Andrew Card, who was White House chief of staff at the time, and told him about the investigation.

For the entire piece, click the link above. Its a good read, and check out Jason's new site whilst your there. Frankly, I am not surprised by this information, but I am highly pissed at how cavalier those bastards were at covering their asses.

Update: Graphic created by Kvatch for his now-retired Blognonymous blog. :)

Your Friday Political corruption post..

Lets start today with one of the clown prince's of political corruption..Abu Gonzales! Yes Abu has been given award (h/t to Fran) by, of all groups...wait for it..

A magazine published by the American Bar Association names Gonzo: Lawyer of the Year

Now, I almost gagged to death on my freshly made, Splenda instead of real sugar, Peanut Butter cookie when I read the title of the article. I mean really..wtf, I thought as I was choking my ass off. But a closer look into the article shows that like Time magazine's award it doesn't mean its a good thing. It means he got the most press of any lawyer in the entire world. Ain't that the truth my dear reader? Can't argue with that logic can we? From the RawStory writeup:

"Think about Time magazine's Person of the Year," Adams said in an interview. "In years past they've named people like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin. So we're not suggesting by these awards that these are the best lawyers in any sense of the word. We are saying they are the most newsworthy -- and perhaps also the best."

Ok, I don't mind Abu being linked to Hitler or Stalin on second thought..do you?

Next on the hit-list we have..drum roll please..The Justice department! Yes, those wonderful Bushies still in the Justice department have told the CIA folks to sit down and shut the fuck up with regards to the House Intel committee probe into the torture tapes. The Justice Department instructed key CIA officials not to cooperate. Wotta load of hooey! How in the blue hell can you call yourselves the Justice department and work against justice? In a joint statement the head Dem and Repub of the committee issued this zinger:

"Just two days ago, CIA Director Michael Hayden appeared before our Committee to address the CIA's destruction of videotapes. In that hearing, he committed to providing materials relevant to our investigation. Earlier today, our staff was notified that the Department of Justice has advised CIA not cooperate with our investigation.

"We are stunned that the Justice Department would move to block our investigation. Parallel investigations occur all of the time, and there is no basis upon which the Attorney General can stand in the way of our work.

"We strongly urge General Hayden to comply with our Committee's bipartisan request to produce documents and to make available John Rizzo and Jose Rodriguez for testimony next week. We will use all the tools available to Congress, including subpoenas, to obtain this information and this testimony.

"It's clear that there's more to this story than we have been told, and it is unfortunate that we are being prevented from learning the facts. The Executive Branch can't be trusted to oversee itself. Congress must conduct its own investigation."

You can strongly urge all you want gents..they won't kiss and tell as long as Bush is in office. Sickening no? Read and weep over this tidbit from the TPMmuckraker writeup:

A big part of the story here is how angry the news of the tape destruction has made Hoekstra. Usually the administration can count Hoekstra as an ally. But in a recent interview with TPMm homie Eli Lake of the New York Sun, Hoekstra came this close to straight-up calling Hayden a liar. Michael Mukasey, fresh from pissing off the Senate Judiciary Committee, just threw gasoline on Hoekstra's fire. This might just become a genuinely bipartisan outrage.

I am going to have another cookie..this justice..or anti-justice shit is making me ill..

tags: Alberto Gonzales, torture tapes, Justice department,

Protesters make Gonzo earn his $40K at UF

The entire story with videos is up at Sirens Chronicles. Check them out. Students boo Berto at the end of his speech, not to mention the two protesters that made it up to the stage in their orange jumpsuits. It was Berto's first foray into the 'real world' since he resigned in disgrace.

Something I can be thankful for tomorrow..students are still giving Gonzo massive crap.. I heart them all! BTW, his fee was culled from the student body as a whole..regardless if they wanted him there or not.

Judge orders White House to save emails..

First, I do appreciate the judges ruling, but honestly..after all BushCo has done to toss our Constitution under the bus..does anyone really think he gives a shit about a judge's order? From Google/AFP:

A US federal judge has ordered the White House to preserve backup computer tapes of all its e-mail due to pending litigation over missing messages, a group involved in the lawsuit announced.

District Judge Henry Kennedy issued the formal order on Monday, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a private pressure group, said in a statement.

The White House said the order was unecessary because its administrative office already has backup tapes, and was preserving all e-mail messages, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.

The lawsuit seeks to find whether millions of e-mail messages sent and received by White House officials between March 2003 and October 2005 have been lost, in violation of federal law.

The lawsuit includes another private group, the National Security Archives.

The plaintiffs believe that some of the lost e-mails may be related to, among other things, former attorney general Alberto Gonzales's controversial decision to fire nine US attorneys, allegedly for political reasons. The scandal led to Gonzales's resignation in August

Oh please..no one really knows why in the blue hell Berto finally stepped down as AG. There isn't enough time in the day to name all the bullshit he has pulled and/or is guilty of. But lets see how King George deals with this after he tosses a hissy fit about it first and bitches about 'activist judges'.

Gonzales has resigned, effective today..

AP is reporting that Alberto Gonzales has left the bulding! It's about friggin time, but it just makes you wonder why BushCo caved in now. The NYT has this info as well on their site:

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 announced 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 resignation had not yet been made public.

Good riddance you worthless bag of batshit.

Tags: Alberto Gonzales, Gonzogate is over

Head of DoJ Civil Rights Div cutting and running.

This makes an even dozen I believe..or damn close to it. From WaPo:

The head of the Justice Department's embattled Civil Rights Division is to resign at the end of August, officials said yesterday, making him the latest in a series of senior political appointees to leave the agency amid continued controversy over Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales.

Wan J. Kim, the assistant attorney general for civil rights since November 2005, has been closely questioned by congressional Democrats about the administration's policy decisions and allegations by former career officials of improper hiring within the division, mostly under his predecessor.

The hits just keep on coming at the DoJ...who's running the fucking place now? Is anyone home? Christ, it's a mess at our nations highest law office. The NYT gives us their spin here.

Tags: DoJ, Wan Kim, Civil Rights, cut and run

Gonzo visits Iraq..I kid you not!

"I am pleased to see firsthand ... the progress that the men and women of the Justice Department have made to rebuild Iraq's legal system and law enforcement infrastructure,"

That, my friends and neighbors is from the piehole of Alberto Gonzales. His numbers are so dismal at home..he is drumming up support in Iraq now. Excuse me whilst I laugh my ever-loving ass off at this article in the Press Enterprize.

Abu Gonzales drug a few friends along with him; Michael Sullivan, director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and John Clark, director of the U.S. Marshals Service and some other not-so-lucky folks from the DoJ.

Nothing like spending your summer vacation in the Green Zone for a photo op with Gonzo.

tags: Alberto Gonzales, GonzoGate on the road in Iraq

Gonzo 'clarifies' his statements...

Oh yeah, right...from TPM..read his response to the committee here..then read Leahy's pov below:

“It is a deeply regrettable that it takes so much work and effort for this Attorney General to try to justify answers that appear to remain far short of the full truth the American people should expect from the Nation’s top law enforcement officer. Sadly, this is becoming a familiar exercise. Testifying with full candor under oath would be so much easier and better.”

Lets cut to the chase..Gonzo of course, doesn't think he misled anyone..lol..anyone want to buy a bridge I have for sale?? Its not however a bridge in MN.

Tags: GonzoGate, Leahy, Attorney General

BushCo is the terrorist Bush has warned us about.

The Crisis in this administration has reached a level that should be, by using their own Homeland Security gauge..Severe.

Because the Terrorist's are in the White House and anyone or any Department they control.

Pat Tillmans death might now be murder, The Department of Justice is being led by a Liar who has been contradicted by the head of the FBI and the former second in command at his own DoJ. This drama has reached a lowpoint never seen in the history of our country.

Even Watergate was a walk in the park compared to these Asshats and what they have done to us as a country and the world at large.

Congress has to step up to the plate. They are the only ones that can put a stop to this madness. But we all know that won't happen. Because of the small margin of a one vote majority in the Senate, nothing can change without the help of the Rethuglicans.

And we ALL know those sumbitches won't do shit. They will back their leader all the way over the cliff..like lemmings to the sea.

We are watching a slo-motion death march my dear reader and I fear for our country.

Tags: Bush, Pat Tillman, Alberto Gonzales

Senate issues subpoena for Rove, wants special prosecutor for GonzoGate

From MSNBC:

Senate Democrats called for a special counsel to investigate whether Attorney General Alberto Gonzales lied under oath and subpoenaed top presidential aide Karl Rove Thursday in a widening probe into the dismissal of federal prosecutors.

"It has become apparent that the attorney general has provided at a minimum half-truths and misleading statements," four members of the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote in a letter to Solicitor General Paul Clement.

Tags: Rove, Contempt of Congress, Special Prosecutor, GonzoGate

Schumer, Gonzo and the gang of 8

Chuck was the last man to question Alberto today. He asked direct yes or no questions of the man who heads our country's Justice Department. He asked about the meetings with the gang of 8. Schumer asked him direct yes or no questions regarding the clandestine meeting with a barely lucid John Ashcroft at the hospital.

Uncle Al side-stepped each and every friggin one of those direct questions. That's a surprise I know..Watch Specter and Leahy grill this bastard on YouTube Here.

Al tried to discredit Comey's previous testimony before the committee regarding the warrentless spying on Americans.

Simply put, Alberto Gonzales is a Shit-stain on the Department of Justice in these here United States.

Tags: Gang of 8, Alberto Gonzales, Ashcroft, Perjury

EDIT: Tomorrow morning at 7 freaking AM on the left coast..the House Jusdiciary committee will take up the matter of Contempt of Congress Citations on Cspan3..don't miss it!

Bush pushes the envelope on Executive Privilege

They are really running scared with this newest reaction to Congress's threat of contempt charges regarding the firing of the USA's. BushCo said flat out that the Justice Department will never be allowed to pursue contempt charges initiated by Congress against White House officials once the president has invoked executive privilege. Per a WaPo article out this morning a senior official has stated:

"A U.S. attorney would not be permitted to bring contempt charges or convene a grand jury in an executive privilege case," said a senior official, who said his remarks reflect a consensus within the administration. "And a U.S. attorney wouldn't be permitted to argue against the reasoned legal opinion that the Justice Department provided. No one should expect that to happen."

This is outrageous. This is pure unadulterated bullshit my dear reader. BushCo is saying that Exec. Priv trumps everything. That he makes the rules and Congress has no authority.

And it doesn't trump everything..no sirree.. Not in the commission of a crime. Not in a free Democracy and not in the United States of America. He isn't a king and he certainly isn't Hitler..although you might get an argument from me about George being a reincarnated version of da fuhrer.

I have been waiting for 'this other shoe' to drop since I wrote this piece Wednesday about Executive Privilege. I knew that Bush and his minions would not sit still for contempt charges being brought by the Justice Dept.

Surely you, my dear reader, didn't either. A final quote from the WaPo writeup:

But Stanley Brand, who was the Democratic House counsel during the Burford case, said the administration's legal view "turns the constitutional enforcement process on its head. They are saying they will always place a claim of presidential privilege without any judicial determination above a congressional demand for evidence -- without any basis in law." Brand said the position is essentially telling Congress: "Because we control the enforcement process, we are going to thumb our nose at you."

The shit is about to hit the fan. I just hope the Congress is ready for it. Its not going to be a cakewalk..and they better not pussy out on this.

Tags: Executive Privilege, Bush, GonzoGate, Contempt of Congress

Harriet a no show..The House is pissed.

The 7-5 vote that rejected Bush’s executive privilege claim is the first step toward holding Miers in contempt of Congress.

Get that old biddy. She is no longer in the employ of his Highness. The Sergeant at Arms needs to bust a move on her ass. Someone is going down for this shit.

Tags: Bush, Harriet Miers, Contempt of Congress

Harriet Miers will stand up Congress tomorrow.

Damn..this is getting dicey now. Per TheHill:
Former White House counsel Harriet Miers will not appear Thursday before the House Judiciary Committee, her attorney said, pointing to a directive from the White House that says she should disobey a subpoena from the panel.

In a letter made available Wednesday, Miers’s attorney George Manning informed House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and House Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee Chairwoman Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) that White Counsel Fred Fielding has instructed him that Miers’s testimony is protected under executive privilege and that she therefore does not need to appear at the hearing.

For more of their writeup click the linkage above.

Tags: Politics, Bush, Bush, Harriet Miers, GonzoGate

Sara M. Taylor refused to testify today

The loyal Bushie kept the Congressional committee in the dark, like a proverbial mushroom. From WaPo on todays hearing:

Former White House aide Sara M. Taylor refused to testify today about White House discussions surrounding the firing of nine U.S. attorneys last year, but, treading carefully around a White House claim of executive privilege, did offer some details about the episode.

"The president has made the determination that the disclosure of this information would interfere with the operation of the executive branch," Taylor said as the committee hearing opened. "I intend to follow the president's instruction. I do not have the ability independently to assess or question the president's determination."

She added: "In light of the president's direction, I will answer faithfully those questions that are appropriate for a private citizen to answer while also doing my best to respect the president's directive that his staff's communications be privileged."

She works for the citizens of the United States first..Then BUSHCO! When will these neocon freaks figure it out? They have no shame in putting The Shrub before the rights of the citizenry to know what specious lies and criminal activity has taken place. They will do everything in their power to protect the most crooked President ever put into office.

Sick bastards and bitches all. Hitler couldn't of done his dirty work without all his loyal underlings..and neither can BUSH. These individuals are quitting like its a freaking contest and looking forward to continuing their careers in what? Lobbying is a real good guess I think. Congress needs to hold these fuckwits in contempt. They need to pull out all the damn stops and hammer this assholes with everything they can throw at them. Make them squirm for Christs sake! Also..Freddy Fielding can kiss my ass..he better get started its an all day job for that smarmy bag of batshit.

Tags: Politics, Bush, Executive Privilege, Congressional Oversight, GonzoGate, Sara Taylor

Gonzo..the lying liar busted again.

Is it any wonder that BushCo continues to support his AG? They are cut out of the same cloth these two.

WaPo enlightens us today with the news that once again, Gonzo has been busted lying to Congress and keeping a straight face.

Two years ago Gonzo, while attempting to get passage on the Patriot Act, "assured lawmakers that the FBI had not abused its potent new terrorism-fighting powers. "There has not been one verified case of civil liberties abuse," Gonzales told senators on April 27, 2005."

Only now, it has come to light that the FBI had already told Gonzo six days prior to his visit with the Senate committee, that they had sort of usurped their power, "that agents had obtained personal information that they were not entitled to have. It was one of at least half a dozen reports of legal or procedural violations that Gonzales received in the three months before he made his statement to the Senate intelligence committee, according to internal FBI documents released under the Freedom of Information Act."

Oh my...isn't this rich? Is this guy a friggin idiot or what? Or is it that he doesn't care who knows he lied because BushCo will cover his ass for him no matter what?

The recent scandal regarding the NSL letters which Congress ripped Gonzo a new one over in March were also discussed in these memo's to Alberto back in '05.

The WH and their cronies are insulated from being held accountable it seems..otherwise there would be mass movement and hysteria on the Hill to oust this sumbitch asap and try him for crimes and misdemeanors he has committed while running the DoJ.

Un-fucking-real.

Picture courtesy of Dude at The Blue Republic.

Tags: Politics, Bush, Alberto Gonzales, GonzoGate, Federal Fuckwits at the Helm, DOJ

First evidence of a DOJ deleted email by Sampson

TruthOut has this lovely gem up on their site:

If you can't read it, click the image and it will take you to a larger version of it on TruthOut's website. To excerpt their article:

An internal Department of Justice email dealing with a series of the most controversial aspects of the US attorney firing scandal was deleted by a DOJ official the day after Congress began to address the firings. Three months later, the official told Congressional investigators he had not destroyed any documents or deleted any records relating to the US attorney firings.

This is the first publicly released evidence that individuals directly involved in the plan to fire eight US attorneys have destroyed documents that are of interest to Congressional investigators. This revelation has raised some eyebrows with members of Congress, but officials were unwilling to speak publicly about it. The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee did not respond in time for publication.

Kyle Sampson, former chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and a central coordinator of the US attorney purge, deleted an official email on January 12, 2007. The email was a correspondence between Sampson and the DOJ White House Liaison Monica Goodling that dealt with the controversial appointment of GOP loyalist Tim Griffin to the post of US attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

Three months after this email was deleted from Sampson's computer, he was interviewed behind closed doors by Congressional investigators. According to a Senior Congressional Aide with access to the non-public transcript of the interview, Sampson was asked directly if he destroyed documents or emails relating to the US attorney purge. He answered "No." The Congressional aide asked to remain anonymous because the interview transcript has not been made public.

The DOJ did not respond to repeated inquires into this matter. Kyle Sampson's lawyer did not return requests for comment.

Here are the forgotten emails and documents from Ms. Monica's personal computer. The first page is the introductory email from her attorney explaining why these weren't turned over earlier. It's 83 pages of documents. But I am going to slog through them at my leisure.

If the Democrats don't start doing something with this 'evidence' they are collecting, I am going to go postal. I swear on Axl Rose's little black heart.

EDIT: wow..my sitemeter tells me that Monica's Lawyers spent 7 minutes on my site today reading my writeup on her..attention whores anyone?

Tags: Politics, Monica Goodling, Kyle Sampson, DOJ, GonzoGate

Gonzales pushed death penalty over Prosecutors objections.

According to former USA Paul Charlton, in testimony before the Senate Judicial subcommittee, Abu Gonzales would insist on the death penalty in cases where he was unfamiliar with the evidence, or lack there of. He would also push it over the objections of the Prosecutor/USA handling the case.

How stupid is that? This man has no right running our countries highest legal office. From a Jurist writeup:

Charlton, one of the former US Attorneys involved in the current firings controversy, described a case where the Department of Justice simultaneously refused to exhume the body of an alleged victim from a landfill to provide forensic evidence while Gonzales pushed for the death penalty despite the objections of Carlton and his prosecutors due to the case's reliance on testimonial evidence obtained through guilty pleas. Charlton added that it was "wrong for the government to both seek the death penalty and at the same time refuse to provide funds to obtain evidence that could prove a vital link in supporting or negating its position."

Of course Abu Gonzales turned the tables on former USA Charlton, saying he disobeyed authority in one of his many trips to Congress to explain why he fired the 8 USA's.

In March, USA Today reported that Charlton was among the top 10 US Attorneys in terms of convictions secured.

Makes sense right? I say that with tongue firmly planted in my cheek, dear reader. Wotta asshole.

And people wonder why there are subpoenas out there for all this bullshit. Simply friggin amazing.

Tags: Politics, GonzoGate, Federal Fuckwits at the Helm