Sen. Schumer (D-NY) catches Mr. Gonzales in one of several lies. Gonzales says Carol Lam was well aware of the DOJ’s concerns about her immigration policy. Lam says that’s false. Kyle Sampson says that’s false. The documents say that’s false.

First he claims the ‘documents’ show she was told. Not true. He gives up on that. Now he’s saying that members of Congress told her, which is of course a non-sequitur since the question is whether the DOJ told her that they were concerned.

This is a telling moment for Gonzales since not only is he lying but he doesn’t even seem to be even marginally prepped with what’s in the public record.

Late Update: Now Sen. Schumer is confronting Gonzales with his lies to Sen. Pryor (D-AR).

Later Update: See the video here …

Even Late Update: Gonzales backtracks on Lam fib.

Sen. Feingold (D-WI) had one of the clearest and most damning exchanges with AG Gonzales earlier this morning. He made a clear and devastating point. The AG says he’s not really aware of what input, advice and views went into compiling the list of fired US Attorneys. He fired the US Attorneys based on that list. But he’s certain that no improper motives went into the compilation of the list, even though he’s not aware of how the list was assembled or why different people’s names were put on it. That’s a logical contradiction.

Late Update: Here’s the video …

Sen. Graham to Gonzales: “Most of this [reasons for the firings] is a stretch.”

Here’s some more behind-the-scenes color from yesterday’s meeting between Bush and Congressional Dem leaders over Iraq.

What a sorry, pathetic figure. Now AG Gonzales is claiming that the criticism of his behavior is damaging the DOJ and making it harder for DOJ employees to do their job.

In one of the more humorous exchanges of the day, Mr. Gonzales called David Iglesias’s failure to report the Wilson and Domenici calls to DOJ a “serious transgression.” It is true that violated departmental guidelines. And Iglesias has rightly apologized. But let’s not forget that Sen. Domenici appears to have reported the calls directly to Gonzales and the President of the United States. Or didn’t he raise that when he contacted both men after Iglesias refused to budge in response to Domenici’s threatening call?

TPM Reader TA gets meta …

I defy you to take the performance of the Attorney General and put it up against any boardroom segment on the Donald Trump reality show The Apprentice and tell me if you see any difference in the plaintive, cloying arguments of Gonzales and the plaintive, cloying arguments of any of the contestants on that reality show when they are begging not to be fired. I defy you–defy you–to show me a difference in tone or substance.

In case you haven’t seen it yet, here’s some video of McCain singing about bombing Iran.

Gonzales to Durbin: “When there are attacks against the department, you’re attacking the career professionals.”

Breaking: Rep. Doolittle (R-CA) resigning from Approps committee in the wake of FBI raid.

TPMmuckraker has more details from the AP and Roll Call. The upshot seems to be that the House Minority Leader forced him off the committee.