TPM Breaking: Monica Goodling to take the 5th

[dave29]

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/013263.php

at up coming congressional hearing

she is the DoJ liason to the White House - who recently went on indefinite leave of absence.

From Bloomberg:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aYXEgusB_EyI&refer=us

March 26 (Bloomberg) -- Monica Goodling, a counsel to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales who helped coordinate the dismissals of eight U.S. attorneys, will invoke her constitutional right not to answer Senate questions about the firings, her lawyer said.

Goodling, one of four Justice Department officials the agency said could be interviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee, will invoke her Fifth Amendment privilege not to answer the panel's questions, John M. Dowd, her lawyer, said in a statement. Dowd said the committee had requested her testimony under oath.

``The hostile and questionable environment in the present congressional proceedings is at best ambiguous; more accurately the environment can be described as legally perilous for Ms. Goodling,'' Dowd said in a letter to Senator Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who chairs the panel. Dowd cited statements by senators accusing the Justice Department of misleading Congress.

[grasswire]

1. who's her lawyer?

That oughta be interesting.

[waiting for hope]

2. And we're off.......

How many more are going to take the 5th - and doesn't that just stink up everything?

[Iwasthere]

7. So what happens if they all plead the 5th?

[John Q. Citizen]

10. Smells like teen spirit! Yow, the plot quicky thickens.

[BOSSHOG]

3. The 5th plead by any member of the bush admin is merely an admission of guilt

[Iwasthere]

So then what?

[BOSSHOG]

11. Nothing from her testimony, but

her complicity may come out from other testimony or further investigation and that may lead to criminal charges against her or others.

[Squatch]

9. Remember...this is not a trial and there will be no trial.

The AG fired all the lawyers, remember?

[BOSSHOG]

12. He did, but he knew nothing of the attorneys and wasn't involved

in or talked about the firings with anyone but he did it anyway. And there was absolutely nothing political about the firings and he has pulled himself up by his bootstraps and has earned everything he has.

[youngdem]

4. How can she take the 5th if this was just a political, normal firing that happens everyday?

:sarcasm:

Let the games begin.

[BOSSHOG]

14. She doesn't want to be involved in the sodomites plan to criminalize politics

or pick some other right wing talking point.

[youngdem]

16. Her lawyer said she was at significant risk of criminal prosecution if she testified truthfully

Pretty stark admission. Usually, you try to hide behind the 5th language a little more elegantly than that. Shows that there is meat on the bones here. This group of crooks has had ABSOLUTELY no problem with lying to Congress about anything and everything, so this my friends, must be HUGE.

I still predict the REAL story here is the Carol Lam prosecution of Cunningham, Foggo and Wilkes getting back to the bribe involving Cheney's office furniture being turned into Cunningham's yacht, and all that is under that rock, and all of the bribes and steered contracts Cheney was selling.

[BOSSHOG]

18. Conservative Values

FUCK NO I AIN'T TELLING THE TRUTH, I'LL GO TO JAIL IF I DO.

I sincerely believe that the quantity of conservative wrongdoing is intentional. They are overloading the judicial system to where the few that support them can be turned against the truth; they are just prosecuting the poor christian conservatives who are trying to do the people's business.

[youngdem]

20. Snarf...

'FUCK NO I AIN'T TELLING THE TRUTH, I'LL GO TO JAIL IF I DO.'


:rofl:

[Lone_Star_Dem]

25. I wonder if she's fishing for immunity

I only ask due to her attorney's statement. Generally that's something that would be better off left unsaid.

[Robbien]

5. What does that really mean

Yes I know it means criminal actions happened, but if we don't have a non GOP USAttorney, what does this really mean.

[Old and In the Way]

22. Maybe the place it will get tried is in the court of public opinion.

Looks pretty bad when the DoJ personnel are taking the 5th to protect themselves from self-incrimination.

[blogslut]

6. Oh, is she back from va-cay?

Well, golly. I hope her trip wasn't cut short. ;)

[NewJeffCT]

8. But, but, but...

why would she do that if she has done nothing wrong and has nothing to hide?

Isn't that the RW mantra we hear all the time?

But, as soon as something goes against them, they run to the ACLU!

[EV_Ares]

13. Gonzales aide to invoke Fifth Amendment

By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Monica Goodling, a Justice Department official involved in the firings of federal prosecutors, will refuse to answer questions at upcoming Senate hearings, citing Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination, her lawyer said Monday.

"The potential for legal jeopardy for Ms. Goodling from even her most truthful and accurate testimony under these circumstances is very real," said the lawyer, John Dowd.

He said that members of the House and Senate Judiciary committees seem already to have made up their minds that wrongdoing has occurred in the firings.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070326/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/fired_prosecutors;_ylt=AndwXWpRw9cd4PEKbPzFUTLMWM0F

[Vinca]

15. If she doesn't want to incriminate herself, it means they better

start adding on to the Republican wings of the federal prisons.

[Ghost in the Machine]

17. a real DUH HUH moment...

"The potential for legal jeopardy for Ms. Goodling from even her most truthful and accurate testimony under these circumstances is very real," said the lawyer, John Dowd.

He said that members of the House and Senate Judiciary committees seem already to have made up their minds that wrongdoing has occurred in the firings.

Of course wrongdoing has occurred, you idiot. DUH HUH! Now they're trying to figure out who all was involved. Idiot!

How do these people's heads not explode when they spew crap like this??

[PhilipShore]

19. Can Congress compel Abramoff to talk...

I am not a lawyer -- do any DU lawyers know, if Congress can have "Abramoff" talk about his involvement with -- Monica Goodling?

[Buns_of_Fire]

21. Fine -- such is her right

All I ask is that she be put under oath and she can take the 5th all she wants -- ON RECORD.

[suffragette]

24. Yes, we need to get this done on record

A preemptive 5th?
It seems odd for the lawyer to announce this before she's even having to speak under oath.
They still need to bring her in for questioning, then she can do this all she wants.

[DefenseLawyer]

23. I assume they can give her immunity

just as a prosecutor could, although I haven't looked very closely at the issue. Contrary to the wording of the article, she doesn't have a Constitutional Right not to answer Senate questions, she has a Constitutional Right against self incrimination.