Alberto Gonzales, George Bush, John Ashcroft And The “Wednesday Night Ambush”
Anyone who lived through the administration of Richard Nixon and the Watergate crisis fully remembers The Saturday Night Massacre (I was in New Delhi, India, interning on The Hindustan Times and was so upset about it that I went into the office of editor George Verghese and told him I feared what would happen in my country. He coolly and correctly told me: “Let’s just see how this all sorts itself out.” He calmed me, but I proceeded to send several cables to my elected representatives expressing anger and demanding action).
And now, in the administration of George Bush, we have the case of not-yet-Attorney General and close Bush associate Alberto Gonzales’ urgently rushing to visit a hospitalized and ailing then-Attorney General John Ashcroft to pressure him to sign domestic spying orders that some in the Justice Department (including, it turns, out Ashcroft) refused to approve. See this VIDEO HERE for full details.
Now there’s a new political development that spells trouble for Bush — not in the sense of impeachment but in terms of a steady virtual collapse of his administration’s credibility: the press is starting to ask Bush what he knew about that visit and when he knew it.
Josh Marshall has this video of Bush refusing to answer whether he ordered Gonzales and another close aide to visit Ashcroft. He writes: “The funny thing about this dodge is that the president is saying not only that the nature of the program is highly classified and must be kept secret, which may be true, but that his apparent order for Gonzales and Card to go squeeze the semi-conscious John Ashcroft is also highly classified and must be kept secret. Somehow I just don’t get that one. The president’s refusal to answer tells the tale. The president gave the order and even placed the call, as James Comey all but told us yesterday.”
Even worse, it’s now clear that the Washington Post thinks it smells a PRESIDENTIAL cover up. It wrote an editorial which seems to have the same feel as the ones written during Watergate. See All Spin Zone for full details and commentary.
The question we’ve posed to Democrats, Republicans and independents has been: Have we ever seen an administration like this? The answer seems to increasingly be…perhaps.
The question for Republicans of good conscience is: does this administration, by the way it operates, the way it treats other branches of the government, its attitude towards existing law and the kind of respect it shows for it, REALLY honor the values nurtured, cherished and safeguarded by such Republican Presidents as Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan…and even the first George Bush?
9 Responses to “Alberto Gonzales, George Bush, John Ashcroft And The “Wednesday Night Ambush””
I was in the Navy in stationed in Vallejo, Ca. at the time, and knew that the Saturday Night Massacre was the beginning of the end for Nixon. I’m not sure that the WaPo editorial really signals the end of the Bush administration, in fact, most probably it does not.
Regardless, I think this was the most significant editorial call (however obtuse) for an independent prosecutor that I’ve yet to see.
Thanks for the link, Joe!
What’s amazing is that Reagan felt that appointing the guy responsible for the massacre to the Supreme Court was a swell idea.
I guess Gonzo and Card figure if torture is OK, then badgering a sick man to sign off on an illegal act is also OK. Honesty and integrity are back…
Both AG and Card may be nice guys but they lack any kind of independent judgement. Card was never able to let Bush know that his instincts were wrong when he was chief of staff, choosing to shield his boss from any negative reactions. AG is obviously willing to ignore our constitution and system of laws whenever Bush needs him to. Send him to Harriet in Texas, LOL. The entire group that Bush brought with him has had nothing but arrogant disregard for checks and balances that keep us a democracy. Rove, Miers, Gonzales, Card have all done their country a disservice.
KR – Nice paople don’t push their bosses agenda on someone in intensive care. If I was Ashcrots son Card and Gonzo would have bloody noses. Intensive care is not an appropriate place for policy disscussions. IMO they were trying to use a man during a health crisis, so much for “Compassionate Conservatism” Just like the Webb/Bush exchange about Webb’s son…
[...] the essence of the Bush administration may be summed in the words a Bush defender who suggest that even if you act without legal authority, you are not [...]
George Bush sent them to the hospital to do this – stop blaming Gonzales and Card – they are just weak kneed lackeys. This is George W Bush’s doing and no one else.
I agree with RevDave- it doesn’t excuse what they did, but it exemplifies the weaknesses of this administration- Bush had to surround himself with sycophantic enablers whose loyalty exceeded their patriotism, and respect for rule of law.
He sidestepped the WH press corp question about the incident yesterday, and kept talking about how he’s doing whatever it takes to protect Americans.
way off topic, just wanted to thank you joe for linking to my “name hillary’s campaign song” contest!