Random Thoughts on AGAG's Demise

by emptywheel

Just some random thoughts on AGAG's resignation.

AGAG and Kim

There have been a number of people connecting Gonzales' resignation with Rove's (Cenk Uygur's take and Sidney Blumenthal's). I am much much more interested in the timing of DOJ Civil Rights Division head Wan Kim's resignation. Here's the chronology:

The week of August 13: Bradley Schlozman resigns 

August 23: Wan Kim resigns, apparently giving all of six day's notice

August 24: Gonzales first offers his resignation to Bush

According to this NYT story, the whole Gonzales thing was rushed and sudden, and it all took place starting the day after Kim was reported to have resigned.

A senior administration official said today that Mr. Gonzales, who was in Washington, had called the president in Crawford, Tex., on Friday to offer his resignation. The president rebuffed the offer, but said the two should talk face to face on Sunday.

Mr. Gonzales and his wife flew to Texas, and over lunch on Sunday the president accepted the resignation with regret, the official said.

On Saturday night Mr. Gonzales was contacted by his press spokesman to ask how the department should respond to inquiries from reporters about rumors of his resignation, and he told the spokesman to deny the reports.

White House spokesmen also insisted on Sunday that they did not believe that Mr. Gonzales was planning to resign. Aides to senior members of the Senate Judiciary Committee said over the weekend that they had received no suggestion from the administration that Mr. Gonzales intended to resign.

As late as Sunday afternoon, Mr. Gonzales himself was denying through his spokesman that he was quitting. The spokesman, Brian Roehrkasse, said Sunday that he telephoned the attorney general about the reports of his imminent resignation “and he said it wasn’t true — so I don’t know what more I can say.” [my emphasis]

Now, granted, unlike Kim, Gonzales gave three week's notice. But the IG investigation of the Civil Rights Division is one (of several) that clearly has merit. And the politicization of the Civil Rights Division is one that was reported to have been ordered from on high. Is it possible that Gonzales was unwilling to further perjure himself to protect those who had politicized justice in this country?

All of which is not to say that Gonzales' resignation was unrelated to Rove's. But from the descriptions, it sounds like Gonzales' wife had a major influence in his decision to resign. And something seems to have triggered her influence just in the last week.

Guess Who Bush Is Was Hanging with Todaynight?

In an utterly priceless bit of ironic timing, Bush did a fundraiser for Pete Domenici today. As I've suggested here, it is pretty clear that Bush blames the USA Purge scandal for Gonzales' resignation. Bush is no doubt bummed that his firewall is gone. But it is well worth recalling the most direct thing Gonzales would be protecting Bush from is the President's personal involvement in the firing of David Iglesias.

In the spring of 2006, Domenici told Gonzales he wanted Iglesias out.

Gonzales refused. He told Domenici he would fire Iglesias only on orders from the president.

At some point after the election last Nov. 6, Domenici called Bush's senior political adviser, Karl Rove, and told him he wanted Iglesias out and asked Rove to take his request directly to the president.

Domenici and Bush subsequently had a telephone conversation about the issue.

The conversation between Bush and Domenici occurred sometime after the election but before the firings of Iglesias and six other U.S. attorneys were announced on Dec. 7.

Iglesias' name first showed up on a Nov. 15 list of federal prosecutors who would be asked to resign. It was not on a similar list prepared in October.

So Bush is helping to retain Domenici, who may well have been Gonzales downfall. And who knows--maybe Domenici's calls to Bush to fire Iglesias will finally get him, too.

Paul Clement Stands Alone

With only an acting DAG and an acting AG, as of September 17, there will be a few non-delegable things (notably, sign-offs for part of the CIPA process) that only Paul Clement (in his role as Solicitor General, not as acting AG) will be allowed to do. So long as he stays healthy and Bush gets a new AG quickly, that may not be a problem. Still, if I were someone like Brent Wilkes (whose trial depends on CIPA), I'd be paying attention closely.

Also, it's worth mentioning that Paul Clement is now my odds on favorite for being the person described in Sidney Blumenthal's Imperial Presidency column as the "Bush legal official, even now at the commanding heights of power" who said,

"Not everything we've done has been illegal." He adds, "Not everything has been ultra vires" -- a legal term referring to actions beyond the law.

Think about that for a second: if my guess is right, it means the acting AG readily admits, to a Democrat, that the Administration has broken the law repeatedly. As the acting top law enforcement officer, what obligations does that give him?

Leahy on Chertoff

I think, by the time I got to this story, BushCo had already decided Chertoff was an impossible replacement candidate (though if he's not, let's not forget the allegation that Chertoff allegedly okayed Chiquita Banana's funding of right wing terrorists in Colombia). Just on the off-chance that Chertoff really is named as Gonzales' replacement, Pat Leahy had the perfect response when asked if he would support a Chertoff nomination. I can't find the quote (it was NPR), but he basically said nothing more than, "You mean the guy who was in charge of the Katrina reconstruction?"

Comments

[Alison]

You sure came back firing on all cylinders.

So are you going to tell us more accurate speculations about the motivation? About Mrs AGAG? Bradley Schlozman??

Come one!! I don't get it and want to hear the end of the story.

[TeddySanFran]

Rove was in charge of the Katrina reconstruction. Chertoff was in charge of FEMA (Brownie's boss) which means he was in charge of the Katrina disaster.

[bg]

Bush was in NM for a LUNCH fund raiser today. They raised over $400K. And a police officer died, in the motorcade.

Bush is on to Washington (or OR) tonight for another fundraiser.

Iglesias all over the media today saying he is vindicated (more or less) and linking Rover and Berto resignations.

[Mickey]

Now, granted, unlike Kim, Gonzales gave three week's notice. But the IG investigation of the Civil Rights Division is one (of several) that clearly has merit. And the politicization of the Civil Rights Division is one that was reported to have been ordered from on high. Is it possible that Gonzales was unwilling to further perjure himself to protect those who had politicized justice in this country?

That sounds tantalizing, but why the urgency? Is there something about that investigation coming to a head? Is there finally a whistle blower that will open up the Civil Rights Division's can of worms?

We'll definitely tune in for the next exciting episode...

[sojourner]

Welcome back, Marcy!

I watched the video of Bush's statement from Crawford and was struck by the amount of glory he was heaping on Gonzales -- who is being billed as the worst AG in US history. We know that Chimpy is a bit blind to some of his administration's characters, but I got the impression that Bush was doing his best to placate Gonzales (or someone) in some way. Bush took deliberate pains to specifically name Gonzales' wife and children, and talk about their sacrifices, as well.

In other words, it seemed like a staged appearance -- the Gonzales family now has a videotape of the POTUS talking about how wonderful they are. Maybe Gonzales can use it to get a new job when he gets his legal problems settled.

[sojourner]

PS -- I definitely feel like there is something big and dark that is going to descend on Gonzales and Rove. Something forced this to happen, because Chimpy was not happy at all today. Maybe he realizes that he only has Cheney in back of him now...

[masaccio]

EW: Tim Grieve at Salon says that a Bush spokesman says that Bush did not try to talk Gonzales out of resigning.

[phred]

Alison, I don't think the Mrs. AGAG angle is too hard to figure. Here she is married to one of the most powerful men in the country who at one time was considered a potential Supreme Court nominee. She's sittin' pretty connected to all the right people, and one morning she wakes up to find that her Very Important Hubby has become a fall guy. No more dreams of being the wife of a Supreme Court Justice, no more power and influence. It's all been replaced by scandal and disgrace. And she knows, just as Libby's wife did, that hubby's career has turned to ashes solely to protect others in the administration who appear to be on course to sail off into the sunset. I had heard before (perhaps here) that she was unhappy. Perhaps she hit her limit with talk of impeachment ramping up and Congress about to reconvene.

That said, the timing in light of Kim's resignation suggests Mrs. AGAG wasn't the only straw that broke the camel's back. Can't wait to see how you sort this one out Marcy...

[emptywheel]

bg

Thanks--corrected, I think.

phred

Yeah, that's the idea. Mrs. AGAG says, you've done enough, time to think of the children. And unlike Rove and even Libby, Gonzales' kids ARE young.

It may be that he would have been asked to commit yet another perjury--and he chose not to go there.

[monzie]

Your're back in the nick of time!!! And a few hours early, if I'm not mistaken. Welcome.

[Tony Ross]

EW,

I know you mentioned that Sen. Reid and Bush made a deal that there would be no recess appointments, but I don't think Bush (read: Cheney) gives a flying fart about any "gentleman's agreements". If this was unexpected, and they can't get Chertoff in(and Reid and Clinton have made it clear that that's not going to happen), I would not be surprised if they go try to pull a fast one. Since when do they care about playing by the rules.

Unfortunately I'm jaded, but I would hope the HJC and the SJC take advantage of this opening and get some answers on a lot of questions.

[bmaz]

Well, if the wife theory is correct, I would like to put HER on the stand under oath for little examination as to exactly what level of mendacity, perfidy, corruption, perjury, torture, and shredding of the Constitution it takes for her to have her little come to Jesus discussion with the hubby. What exactly is her personal threshold on each of these subjects individually and collectively. Because there has been seven years of pretty egregious violations in my eyes; what exactly caused her to cross the rubicon now? I am not sure I but the wife angle.

[Sid58]

Bmaz: In yr scenario, could Ms Alberto testify against him?

[bmaz]

I was being satirical for the most part; but no, spousal communications are generally privileged.

[Frank Probst]

PS -- I definitely feel like there is something big and dark that is going to descend on Gonzales and Rove. Something forced this to happen, because Chimpy was not happy at all today. Maybe he realizes that he only has Cheney in back of him now...

Posted by: sojourner | August 27, 2007 at 22:14
-----------------------------------------
"Only"? When you're already knee-deep in bodies, you really don't want to have Dick Cheney staring at your back.

[Frank Probst]

Can anyone check to see if Sealed v Sealed is still, well, sealed?

[orionATL]

e'wheel

it's not 12:01 tuesday yet.

[Frank Probst]

OT: Just out of curiosity: Has anyone here ever accidentally plead guilty to disorderly conduct after being arrested by an undercover police officer for soliciting sex in a public restroom?

[bmaz]

Frank - Eh, no. However, I have proved several different client's "innocence" by having them enter that same plea agreement. One of them was a cop.....

[Sara]

Various versions of the Idaho Coup as it is called, have been local gossip for a couple of weeks around here in DFL circles. It has been on the local court docket for a couple of weeks, but no one could get the now sold out to some sort of nameless combine (Private equity group) newspapers to go down to the courthouse and read the records.

Last time our Airport cops made national news it was about arresting Imams for provocative praying. So now we have Idaho Republicans in an airport restroom that for ages has been a place to get a quick blow job.

You can't fly west of here on a direct flight except to Portland and Seattle, so this is the a place for making plane changes if your destination is N&S Dakota, Montana, and Idaho, Utah, and a few other places. If you want to go to London or Hong Kong from those places, well welcome to Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. We offer many services, including this small off the beaten track restroom for horney men. My own legislator wants to put a Casino in that waiting area to capture a little wagering money.

I just want to note something of interest. The former Hennepin County Prosecutor, who till last January would have dealt with this matter, is now Senator Amy Klobuchar. One wonders how they eye each other in the Senate Chamber. I think she set up the sting some months before she became a Senator.

[bmaz]

Sara - That last paragraph is absolutely rich. Is there any indication that state and/or local officials (Repub I would presume) worked with Craig to keep this quiet. I don't know if you have seen this part yet, but he is now saying he was innocent and only pled guilty because he didn't have an attorney; made a stupid mistake in pleading guilty and really regrets that he didn't have a lawyer to help him.

There is not one chance in hell that he did this without the advice of an attorney. Just because they tried to slide it through a municipal or minor justice court of some kind without drawing attention to it and there was no counsel of record on the plea DOES NOT mean he did not consult an attorney. Take it to the bank that he consulted an attorney. This guy is not only a pervert, but like most far right wingnut Republicans, he is a complete lying sack of dung. I will wager about anything that he consulted a lawyer either there, back home in Idaho or DC. Any scuttlebutt on him talking to a lawyer or getting help keeping this under the radar from the locals?

[Jodi]

I think the timing has to do with the upcoming primarys and the election next year.

Just removing the clutter from the discussions.

[hey jodi stfu]

why do you always say the dumbest stupidest sh*t, jodi ?

are you just a complete and utter moron or do you just try real hard ?

jeebus.

[alibe]

Do you think the resignation of Gonzales was connected with the FISA thing being passed at the last minute? Quid Pro quo? I always wondered why there wasn't a deal for that bills passage.

[drational]

Last Night on Hardball, John Dean discussed one of the problems at DOJ was careerists departures.
He said he had a good friend at DOJ who was contemplating leaving "because of Gonzales" (Person X), and Dean did not know whether the resignation would change that decision.

Considering the Kim resignation, I wonder if Dean was telling us something?

Speculation:
A Big Problem revealed recently was the last straw for X. The Kim resignation was not enough to resolve the issue- perhaps it went higher- and X told Dean he was going to quit over it.
Gonzo was in deep and thought Kim's removal enough, but when X (and possibly others; perhaps the issue triggered mass resignation threats) decided he was still going to leave, Gonzo decided it was time to leave....