During her testimony, Monica Goodling testified about a meeting she had with Alberto Gonzales shortly before she left the department — their last meeting. Goodling dated the conversation as taking place on a Thursday or Friday the week before she went on leave for the department (March 23rd) — so on March 14th or 15th. That was just a week after Congress requested to interview Goodling about what she knew.
Goodling’s testimony is sure to lead to questions about whether Gonzales was trying to tamper with a witness of a congressional investigation.
In this private discussion with Gonzales, Goodling said she asked for a transfer out of her current position because of the scandal. Gonzales said he’d have to think about that, but then started telling Goodling what he remembered about the firing process. He then asked her if she had “any reaction” to his memory. “I didn’t know that it was maybe appropriate for us to talk about that,” she said, adding that it made her “uncomfortable.” When Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL) asked if she thought the attorney general had been trying to shape her recollection of the firings, she said no, but then did say again that the conversation had made her feel uncomfortable.
Now, Congress had been openly investigating the firings since January. On March 8, the House Judiciary Committee requested that Goodling testify before the committee. The following week, Gonzales was comparing stories with her. That doesn’t sound good.
Update: In a follow-up line of questioning, after Goodling again said that she’d been uncomfortable about her conversation with Gonzales, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) asked, “But the top law enforcement official in country didnât raise any concern about the propriety of your discussing this issue?” No, she replied.
And Rep. Davis clarified whether Goodling knew then that she might have to testify and that the attorney general knew that she would. “I think he knew it was likely,” she said.
