Isn't this coaching a witness? Isn't this illegal in potential criminal investigations? This ain't a confirmation hearing, Gonzo.
And if you are telling the truth, why do you have to practice? (Oh, wait. He has no experience.)
By Dan Eggen and Paul Kane
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040402614_pf.html">Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, April 5, 2007; A01
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales has retreated from public view this week in an intensive effort to save his job, spending hours practicing testimony and phoning lawmakers for support in preparation for pivotal appearances in the Senate this month, according to administration officials.
After struggling for weeks to explain the extent of his involvement in the firings of eight U.S. attorneys, Gonzales and his aides are viewing the Senate testimony on April 12 and April 17 as seriously as if it were a confirmation proceeding for a Supreme Court or a Cabinet appointment, officials said.
Ed Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman, and Timothy E. Flanigan, who worked for Gonzales at the White House, have met with the attorney general to plot strategy. The department has scheduled three days of rigorous mock testimony sessions next week and Gonzales has placed phone calls to more than a dozen GOP lawmakers seeking support, officials said.
.....
Justice officials and outside experts said the effort is further hampered by legal conflicts among Gonzales and his senior aides. Top Democrats have also accused department officials of misleading Congress in previous testimony, leading Justice lawyers to insist on limiting contact between key players to avoid allegations of obstructing a congressional investigation, officials said.
As a result, Gonzales and senior Justice lawyers have so far received little assistance from the White House and cannot consult with some of his closest aides, including Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty, officials said.
"We are hampered because some senior officials are not able to discuss the facts as they know them in the same room, for fears of additional accusations of misleading Congress," said one Justice official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) sent a letter to Gonzales on Tuesday, asking for "appropriate firewalls" between potential witnesses involved in the firings.
.....
"It just compounds the difficulty facing any witness in this situation," (former senator Daniel R.) Coats (R-Ind.) said. "You don't have the ability to coordinate with other organizations or individuals that are going to be testifying, and there will be a lot of people looking for inconsistencies. It is no small challenge for the attorney general."
And from Shelley Lewis at
Huffington Post:
The icing on the cake is the presence of Timothy E. Flanigan as one of the guys who is prepping Gonzalez. Flanigan was a deputy White House counsel who left to become chief counsel at Tyco. When Tyco wanted to kill some unfavorable tax legislation Flanigan hired Jack Abramoff to lobby for them.
He was nominated to be a deputy attorney general by Bush in 2005 but withdrew his name when it became clear he'd have to talk about Abramoff.
Flanigan also helped Gonzalez write the book on the Bush administration's torture policy.
Gonzo should stop wasting his time--he's toast. And when he goes down, it won't be for helping the Bush administration shred our constitution and our moral standing around the world. It will be for an "overblown personnel matter," to use his own description.
You know, like Al Capone going to jail for tax fraud. Fitting, that.
All roads lead back to Jack Abramoff. And loyal Bushie US Attorney Alex Acosta in Miami is now
trying to reduce Jack's sentence.Gonzo is finished.
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