Gonzales investigation begins to pay off
What in the world is going on in this administration?
Last night, during my 1 hour commute which takes me all of 12 miles, I was listening to NPR and heard the very compelling testimony of former Deputy Attorney General James Comey and was surprised by the lengths that the White House would go to get a ’signature’ to approve their domestic spying program.
It really is best if you listen to the NPR story, but here is the main part:
“I thought I had just witnessed an effort to take advantage of a very sick man, who did not have the powers of the attorney general because they had been transferred to me,” Comey testified.
The sick man was John Ashcroft, who was in the hospital with acute pancreatitis. Hours before his hospitalization, Ashcroft and Comey had decided not to reauthorize the president’s secret, controversial, domestic-surveillance program.
The night after the Justice Department told the White House, Comey received a phone call. The president’s chief of staff, Andy Card, and then-White House counsel Alberto Gonzales were on their way to Ashcroft’s hospital room.
“I told my security detail that I needed to get to George Washington Hospital immediately,” Comey testified. “They turned on the emergency equipment and drove very quickly to the hospital. I got out of the car and literally ran up the stairs.”
The room was dark. Mrs. Ashcroft was standing by the bed. Comey said that Ashcroft, in his sixth day in intensive care, was not in good shape. He was unfocused, disoriented.
“And it was only a matter of minutes that the door opened and in walked Mr. Gonzales, carrying an envelope, and Mr. Card,” Comey said. “They came over and stood by the bed, greeted the attorney general very briefly, and then Mr. Gonzales began to discuss why they were there — to seek his approval for a matter.”
Then, Ashcroft did something that stunned Comey. He lifted his head off the pillow and explained in strong, detailed terms why he would not sign the paper.
“And as he laid back down, he said, ‘But that doesn’t matter because I’m not the attorney general. There is the attorney general.’ And he pointed to me,” Comey testified. “I was just to his left. The two men did not acknowledge me. They turned and walked from the room.”
That was not the end of it. Before Comey left the hospital, he received an urgent call from White House Chief of Staff Andy Card.
“Mr. Card was very upset and demanded that I come to the White House immediately,” Come said. “I responded that after the conduct I had just witnessed, I would not meet with him without a witness present. He replied, ‘What conduct? We were just there to wish him well.’”
Wow. The White House has some serious cajones. Hopefully this is just the start of many, many years of hearings that will investigate the actions of this administration.
