Gonzales under Investigation by Internal DoJ ProbeAttorney General Alberto Gonzales is under investigation by his own department’s inspector general and Office of Professional Responsibility. From The Washington Post:
The Justice Department is investigating whether Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales sought to influence the testimony of a departing senior aide during a March meeting in Gonzales’s office, according to correspondence released today.
In a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the two officials who are leading an internal Justice Department investigation of the dismissal of nine U.S. attorneys last year said their inquiry includes the Gonzales meeting, which was revealed during testimony last month from former Gonzales aide Monica M. Goodling.
You can read a copy of the letter here.
Here, to refresh your memory, is Goodling’s testimony about the meeting last month. Goodling said that in this private discussion with Gonzales, 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.
The Post reports, “The disclosure could represent a serious legal threat to the embattled attorney general. [Inspector General Glenn] Fine’s office is empowered to refer matters for criminal prosecution if warranted.”
Update: Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy’s (D-VT) response was to the point:
“The last time an internal investigation at the Department of Justice got too close for comfort the White House shut it down. I hope this investigation will not suffer the same fate as the OPR inquiry into the warrantlesss wiretapping program. This internal investigation is an important step in getting to the truth behind this matter, and they should be allowed to do their jobs without interference from this Administration.”
