We are witnessing historic events in Washington. It is now indisputable that the Attorney General of the United States has perjured himself. It is now only a matter of time before Alberto Gonzales is forced to resign for his lying, dissembling and obfuscations. It is also now very likely that the chief law enforcement officer of the United States may himself be guilty of serious crimes.
FBI Director Robert Mueller, at a hearing in front of the House Judiciary Committee, directly contradicted Gonzo’s sworn testimony from Tuesday:
FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III has contradicted the sworn testimony of his boss, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, by telling Congress that a prominent warrantless surveillance program was the subject of a dramatic legal debate within the Bush administration.
Mueller’s testimony appears to mark the first public confirmation from a Bush administration official that the National Security Agency’s Terrorist Surveillance Program was at issue in an unusual nighttime visit by Gonzales to the hospital bedside of then-Attorney General John D. Ashcroft, then under sedation and recovering from surgery.
Mueller’s remarks to the House Judiciary Committee about that contentious meeting differed from testimony earlier in the week from Gonzales, who told a Senate panel that a legal disagreement aired at the hospital did not concern the NSA program. Details of the program, kept secret for four years, were confirmed by President Bush in December 2005, provoking wide controversy on Capitol Hill.
"The discussion was on a national–an NSA program that has been much discussed, yes," Mueller said in response to a question from Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas). Mueller also told another lawmaker that he had serious reservations about the warrantless wiretapping program.
Director Mueller has also in his possession notes that he took to document the March 10, 2004 showdown in then Attorney General John Ashcroft’s hospital room. The director said that he took the notes because the episode was "out of the ordinary."
Gonzo’s lies began to unravel after former Deputy Attorney General James Comey provided dramatic testimony of Gonzo’s late night visit to the hospital to try and take advantage of a very sick man. It is a story worthy of mob movies like The Godfather. Yet, it was then White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales that was behaving in mafia-like fashion, quite likely at the direction of the President or Vice President of the United States. Today Gonzo is finally being held to account for his thuggish behavior.
This walking embarrassment to the Department of Justice must resign.
Below is James Comey’s dramatic testimony:
Below are relevant parts of FBI Director Robert Mueller’s testimony from earlier today:
Talk about the fox guarding the hen house. If Gonzo is found guilty of any charges in the next year, does anyone want to bet Shrub pardons him before he leaves office?