By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer
May 16, 2007
WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Hagel on Wednesday
became the latest Republican to call for Alberto Gonzales' resignation,
saying revelations about a sick bed visit to his predecessor
have undermined his moral authority to lead the Justice Department.
Citing dramatic testimony a day earlier that revealed that
Gonzales, then the White House legal counsel, tried to undermine
the department he now leads, Hagel demanded the attorney general's
resignation.
"The American people deserve an attorney general, the
chief law enforcement officer of our country, whose honesty
and capability are beyond question," Hagel, R-Neb., said
in a statement. "Attorney General Gonzales can no longer
meet this standard. He has failed this country. He has lost
the moral authority to lead."
President Bush continued to stand by his longtime friend and
adviser. Asked about Hagel's comment on Gonzales' moral authority,
press secretary Tony Snow replied: "We disagree, and the
president supports the attorney general."
Hagel has hinted at seeking his party's presidential nomination
but has not officially declared his candidacy. Another GOP
contender, Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), last
month called for Gonzales' resignation.
Hagel's harsh words came in response to testimony Tuesday
by James Comey, deputy to Gonzales' predecessor, John Ashcroft.
Comey said that Gonzales pressured an ailing Ashcroft to approve
the legality of President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program.
Ashcroft critically ill with pancreatitis at the time rebuffed
Gonzales, Comey recalled.
The White House went ahead with the program without Justice
Department approval, Comey said. Faced with the resignations
of Comey, Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller, Bush relented
and changed the program to address Justice's concerns.
The story plus the dustup over the firings of at least eight
federal prosecutors inspired Hagel to demand that Gonzales
step down.
"Alberto Gonzales should resign now," Hagel said.
The White House has not confirmed nor refuted Comey's account,
but Snow described it as only one view of the events.
"Jim Comey gave his side of what transpired. The president
still has full confidence in Alberto Gonzales," Snow said.
Unhappy with Gonzales, most Republicans have nonetheless largely
refrained from calling for his resignation. Republicans who
have called for Gonzales' ouster include Sens. John Sununu
(news, bio, voting record), R-N.H., Tom Coburn (news, bio,
voting record), R-Okla., and House GOP Conference Chairman
Adam Putnam (news, bio, voting record), R-Fla.
Democrats sought to re-ignite the discussion of Gonzales'
fitness for office by eliciting then pouncing on the details
of that night in March, 2004. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., cast
the incident as an example of what he said was the attorney
general's habit of putting Bush's interests ahead of virtually
all else. Otherwise, the story had little connection to the
Democrats' stated topic for the hearing, the ousters of eight
federal prosecutors over the winter.
At issue in 2004 was Bush's no-warrant wiretapping program,
which Comey described as so questionable that Ashcroft refused
for a time to reauthorize it as required in March, 2004.
Senior government officials had expressed concerns about whether
the National Security Agency, which administered the program,
had the proper oversight in place. Other concerns included
whether any president possessed the legal and constitutional
authority to authorize the program as it operated at the time.
Days before the program's required recertification in March,
2004, Ashcroft suddenly fell ill enough with pancreatitis that
he transferred the powers of the attorney general to Comey.
Acting Attorney General Comey, too, refused to certify the
program's legality.
On March 10, Gonzales, then White House Counsel, and Bush's
former chief of staff, Andy Card, took the matter to Ashcroft
as he lay in the intensive care unit at George Washington University
Hospital. Tipped to their impending visit, Comey raced there
with the sirens of his security detail blaring, he told the
committee Tuesday.
Comey arrived at Ashcroft's bedside moments before the president's
aides walked in, Gonzales holding the presidential order of
recertification.
Ashcroft rebuffed them, pointing out that Comey held the powers
of the attorney general at that moment. Gonzales and Card left
the room without acknowledging Comey.
Card later demanded that Comey come to the White House. Comey
said he demanded a witness accompany him after the conduct
he'd seen at Ashcroft's bed side.
Card "replied, 'What conduct? We were just there to wish
him well,'" Comey recalled.
The White House certified the legality of the program without
the Justice Department's signoff, causing Comey, Ashcroft and
Mueller to prepare their resignations, Comey said. Faced with
a mass walkout at the helm of Justice, Bush relented.
A day after the incident at Ashcroft's hospital bedside, Bush
ordered changes to the program to accommodate the department's
concerns. Ashcroft signed the presidential order to recertify
the program about three weeks later.
The FBI and the Justice Department refused to comment on the
meeting, but defended the eavesdropping program as essential
to the war on terrorism. Spokesmen for Ashcroft and Mueller
refused requests for comment.
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