Destroy Gonzales-ism

[Caro]

The excerpt below is posted with the full permission, even encouragement, of the author, who wants his essays to be read by as many people as possible.

From The Hill’s Pundits Blog:

Destroy Gonzales-ism

Brent Budowsky

Thomas Paine once wrote that in absolute governments, the King is law, and in free nations, the Law is king.

The fundamental problem is not that Alberto Gonzales lied, prevaricated, misrepresented or played Pinocchio when he falsely stated he was not involved in the decisions to fire the U.S. attorneys. Those actions were wrong and appropriate grounds for removal, but there is much, much worse.

Alberto Gonzales is a basically decent guy, a second-tier-quality lawyer elevated to great heights by blind obedience to the concept of absolute power and the unwise president who claims it for himself on matters that grossly violate the American notion of the rule of law…

Congress should ask him whether there are executive orders or legal opinions or advice within the government that he has rendered in support of actions to torture that violate commonly accepted rules of domestic, military or international law.

Congress should ask him, aggressively and thoroughly, whether there are executive orders or legal opinions he has authored or joined that secretly seek to justify unilateral executive acts that violate American statutory or constitutional law on issues ranging from eavesdropping to domestic spying or any other matters.

Congress should ask him whether he believes that secret actions or public signing statements can justify overruling the entire realm of federal statutory law, and the entire United States Constitution.

And if the attorney general does not believe that all federal laws and all constitutional provisions, can be unilaterally violated, the Congress should ask the attorney general, aggressively, which laws the president is bound to faithfully execute, and which laws the president can unilaterally claim he is not bound to faithfully execute…

My advice to the Congress is to prepare a lengthy and detailed list of such questions, to provide them to the attorney general and make them public in advance of the hearings.

My prediction, if they do this, is that he resigns before addressing these matters under oath, in which case Congress should pursue these matters aggressively and thoroughly, after his departure, and principled conservatives should put Americanism and conservatism ahead of Republicanism and join in restoration of the rule of law in America…

Brent Budowsky is a Contributing Editor to Fighting Dems News Service and a former aide to Senator Lloyd Bentsen and the House Democratic Leadership with Bill Alexander, then Chief Deputy Whip. Contact him at [e-mail].

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Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Oh man

these hearings are going to be explosive! I've heard that Gonzales hasn't been doing well in rehearsing for the hearings--could it be because he's trying to figure out how the answer so that everyone on the committee won't immediately move to impeach him for violating his Constitutional oath?

[loudsue]

2. THAT would be sweet! I'll bet he can't squirm out of this one.

:kick:

[RaleighNCDUer]

4. My only problem with it is that he will take the fall, and those who

should go down with him will not.

[juno jones]

3. I can't wait to see

Gonzo and his merry crew who have barely passed the bar let alone been in a courtroom arguing a case vs. Leahy, Conyers, Waxman, et al who are experienced TOP TIER lawyers and prosecutors. Pass the popcorn...