Don't Let The Screen Door Hit You

On the way out. Who are these people? So, our President folds with a little threat from inside. The CIA guy was replaced, these guys were replaceable. Who makes the policy in this country that one can threaten to leave their job, that they serve at the Presidents request, and get away with it? Who is running this country? I thought the President was in charge, or at least the man behind the curtain who has been pulling the strings. So Gonzales has the Power.

Gonzales Said He Would Quit in Raid Dispute - New York Times: "Mr. Gonzales was joined in raising the possibility of resignation by the deputy attorney general, Paul J. McNulty, the officials said. Mr. Gonzales and Mr. McNulty told associates that they had an obligation to protect evidence in a criminal case and would be unwilling to carry out any White House order to return the material to Congress.

The potential showdown was averted Thursday when President Bush ordered the evidence to be sealed for 45 days to give Congress and the Justice Department a chance to work out a deal.

The evidence was seized by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents last Saturday night in a search of the office of Representative William J. Jefferson, Democrat of Louisiana. The search set off an uproar of protest by House leaders in both parties, who said the intrusion by an executive branch agency into a Congressional office violated the Constitution's separation of powers doctrine. They demanded that the Justice Department return the evidence.

The possibility of resignations underscored the gravity of the crisis that gripped the Justice Department as the administration grappled with how to balance the pressure from its own party on Capitol Hill against the principle that a criminal investigation, especially one involving a member of Congress, should be kept well clear of political considerations.

It is not clear precisely what message Mr. Gonzales delivered to Mr. Bush when they met Thursday morning at the White House, or whether he informed the president of the resignation talk. But hours later, the White House announced that the evidence would be sealed for 45 days in the custody of the solicitor general, the Justice Department official who represents the government before the Supreme Court. That arrangement ended the talk of resignations."

Maybe we can be talking about impeachment by then. Or, better yet, what does the Attorney General have on the President that made him try not to look impotent? Why was 45 the magic number? Are they hoping that after 45 days that everyone would have forgotten? I know they have gotten away with a lot in this badministration, but being bossed around by your underlings will not be slipping my mind anytime soon.

One more reason why the President is a lame duck. Why don't these guys just call a press conference and rip up the Constitution in our faces and just be honest about the new rules of order? They investigate everybody but themselves. That might be why they don't find anything. They are looking in all the wrong places.

Not that I think Jefferson is all that innocent, but Bushco has been setting way too many precedents and breaking traditions at the drop of a hat. The FBI didn't raid DeLay's office or Bob Ney for that matter.

With a little luck maybe this will tip the scale over a little too far for the comfort of most people.

Update: From the Washington Post a little more on the temper tantrum.

Justice prosecutors and FBI agents feared that the White House was ready to acquiesce to demands from House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and other lawmakers that the materials be returned to the Louisiana congressman, who is the subject of a criminal probe by the FBI. Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, David S. Addington, was among the leading White House critics of the FBI raid, telling officials at Justice and on Capitol Hill that he believed the search was questionable, several sources familiar with his views said.

Administration officials said yesterday that the specter of top-level resignations or firings at Justice and the FBI was a crucial turning point in the standoff, helping persuade President Bush to announce a cease-fire on Thursday. Bush ordered that the Jefferson materials be sealed for 45 days while Justice officials and House lawmakers work out their differences, while also making it clear that he expected the case against Jefferson to proceed.

Spokesmen for the White House, Cheney's office, the Justice Department and the FBI declined to comment, saying they would not discuss internal deliberations.

White House officials were not informed of the search until it began last Saturday and did not immediately recognize the political ramifications, the sources said. By Sunday, however, as the 18-hour search continued, lawmakers began lodging complaints with the White House.

When all is said and done, history will reveal that Bush is one of the weakest presidents we have ever had. This does not reflect well on the person supposedly running the country and shouldn't be tolerated. If we supposedly don't negotiate with terrorists, why capitulate to a whiney threat from the people who are serving at your pleasure. Spineless.
Makes one wonder.

Tags: Alberto Gonzales, resignation, Bush, FBI, Jefferson, Ney