Gonzales: Don't Blame Me, Blame Bush

[deminks]

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002861.php

President Bush shut down an internal Justice Department investigation into the administration's warrantless wiretapping program against the advice of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, according to a letter sent by a senior Justice Department official to Congress yesterday. To Democrats, it's yet another example of why Gonzales should step down.

The investigation, launched in January 2006 by the Department's internal watchdog, the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) -- an office created in the wake of the Watergate scandal to prevent similar abuses by DoJ officials -- would have examined whether Department officials had properly reviewed the legality of the NSA's Terrorist Surveillance Program, which dates back to 2001.

(snip)

Yesterday, Richard Hertling, the acting Associate Attorney General, responded on Gonzales' behalf:

The Attomey General was not told that he was a subject or target of the OPR investigation, nor did he believe himself to be. The Attorney General did not ask the President to shut down or otherwise impede the OPR investigation. The Attorney General recommended to the President that OPR be granted security clearances to the Terrorist Sur\~eillance Program. The President made the decision not to grant the requested security clearances.

[aquart]

1. Prove it, Mr. Hertling.

Oh, and say it under oath.