Refresh Your Memory: Alberto Gonzales

Editor’s note: Alberto Gonzalez resigned from his post of attorney general on August 27, 2007. A look at his history reveals why we should be relieved.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announces his resignation at a press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, Monday, Aug. 27, 2007. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has been in the news a lot lately for his obfuscation in the congressional investigation of the possibly improper firing of several U.S. attorneys. Our friends at Mic Check Radio have provided us with the following fact sheet demonstrating that Gonzales has a long history of hiding the truth to protect George W. Bush.

• Fudging the truth about the hospital-room showdown over surveillance. Refusing to explain his role in the political firings of 9 U.S. attorneys. Dissembling on civil liberty violations under the Patriot Act. As Republican strategist Newt Gingrich charged on Sunday, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has become “a liability for the president” and “a liability for the United States of America.” [Washington Post] [Audio, :19]

• Stop a second to check out Gonzales through the years, however, one thing becomes crystal clear: We really should have seen this coming.

• Here are three other things we almost forgot about Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and his prior record:

• ONE: Gonzo Bends Rules To Protect W: In 1996, as counsel to then-Gov. George Bush, Alberto Gonzales worked behind the scenes to get him excused from jury duty, allowing W to “avoid questions that would have required him to disclose his own 1976 arrest and conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) in Kennebunkport, Maine—an incident that didn’t become public until the closing days of the 2000 campaign.” [Newsweek]

• TWO: Gonzo Ignores The Law: In 1997, Alberto Gonzales wrote a memo for then Gov. Bush to justify non-compliance with the Vienna Convention. The Vienna Convention, ratified by the Senate in 1969, was “designed to ensure that foreign nationals accused of a crime are given access to legal counsel by a representative from their home country.” Gonzales sent a letter to the U.S. State Department saying the U.S. may have signed the treaty, but the state of Texas hadn’t and thus didn’t have to comply. Two days later, Texas executed Mexican citizen Irineo Tristan Montoya, despite Mexico’s protestations that Texas had violated Tristan’s rights under the Vienna Convention by failing to inform the Mexican consulate at the time of his arrest. [Slate]

• THREE: Gonzo Refuses To Give Info To Congress: Senators traditionally are allowed to review official memoranda written by potential judicial nominees. But when the Senate asked to review memos written by White House judicial nominee Miguel Estrada when he worked in Bush’s solicitor general’s office, Gonzales blocked them, saying to do so “would chill free expression among Administration lawyers and violate the principle of executive privilege, which protects the internal deliberations of the President’s aides.” [New Yorker]

This fact sheet comes courtesy of Mic Check Radio.

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Comments

1. Loyalty to our country and its people precedes loyalty to our president. I blame the Republicans for being to loyal to the president and bowing to his wishes. They knew the previous history of this man; yet they voted and approved that he be the Attorney General.

   — Grace Stentz - Aug 30, 03:41 PM - #