Comments on: Let’s Not Mince Words

By: The Constructivist

The Constructivist — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 22:31:21 +0000

Given my track record on Gonzalez predictions and assessments, I'll stick to meaningless mayoral campaigns, thank you very much.

By: withywindle

withywindle — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 01:54:24 +0000

Which could always be possible–interesting to see. But I confess I have no particular urge to search for possible excuses for AG Gonzalez right now–I think he has exhausted the benefit of the doubt.

By: Timothy Burke

Timothy Burke — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 00:44:09 +0000

Where Gonzalez is lying (or Comey is) regards Gonzalez’ claim that he had no idea that Comey or Ashcroft objected to reauthorization of the NSA’s surveillance, or that there was any disagreement within the Administration about it. This means that his visit to Ashcroft is pretty incomprehensible–if you’re not trying to do an end run around someone and if you’re not trying to see if you can pressure a sick man into signing off on something, then why are you rushing to the hospital to see Ashcroft? It really doesn’t matter what was in his heart in seeing Ashcroft: there’s a basic factual question about the purpose of the visit to be answered, and Gonzalez is denying that it had anything to do with trying to do an end run around Comey or about any kind of objections within the DOJ at all. In the course of the testimony, Gonzalez eventually said that there were “other” intelligence programs that they disagreed over, but not the NSA one which was the reason why he went to see Ashcroft.

By: hestal

hestal — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 21:21:50 +0000

George Washington did not mince words when he warned us that political parties could fall prey to “cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men.” And both parties seem to be infected at present. They are both seeking the favor of the God of Reelection, and to hell with the Constitution. The Framers made a lot of assumptions that were incorrect and those errors need to be corrected. One error is that they did not outlaw parties.

By: daddy democrat

daddy democrat — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 21:01:36 +0000

But isn’t the principle disagreement between Gonzales and Comey about intent? Sure, Comey has vastly more credibility on this issue, but it’s pretty hard to prove absolutely that Gonzales is lying about what was in his heart. It’s not like’s reported to have yelled at Ashcroft or trying to twist his arm.