It’s kind of amusing to think that literally just 10 days ago, it seemed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was, facts be damned, going to keep his job. He believed he had “weathered the storm.” He was caught in the midst of a massive scandal he still can’t explain, his Justice Department is divided and dysfunctional, and he’d lost the trust of pretty much everyone who has objectively considered the facts, but Bush is satisfied — so Gonzales is “confident” that he’s going to stay right where he is.
For that matter, it seemed, for unclear reasons, that there was nothing Congress would do about it. Since James Comey’s Senate testimony on Tuesday, however, it’s become clear that Gonzales hadn’t weathered the storm, he was just in the storm’s eye.
After Sens. Schumer and Feinstein unveiled their no-confidence resolution, all eyes were on Senate Republicans to see how much, if any, GOP push-back there’d be. The White House dismissed the measure as a “stunt,” but the Senate minority has barely lifted a finger to oppose the resolution. Indeed, the afternoon it was introduced, more GOP lawmakers abandoned Gonzales. (For those keeping score at home, there are 10 Republican senators who’ve said, publicly, they think it’s time for Gonzales to go, one way or another.)
This morning, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Gonzales’ days as AG are numbered.
[O]n CBS’s Face the Nation, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) underlined the importance and seriousness of the vote, calling it a “rare” and “very forceful, historical statement.” He predicted that “before the vote is taken that Attorney General Gonzales may step down.”
Maybe. But reading over the transcript of Friday’s White House gaggle, a Bush spokesperson made it sound as if Congress may have to impeach Gonzales, because losing the confidence of lawmakers just isn’t enough.
