The reaction to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ resignation on Monday was quick and spanned the political spectrum. The following is a sampling of opinions:
“It was time for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to go. His credibility was at an all-time low. He had refused to cooperate with the U.S. Congress and members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees who were exercising their constitutional duty to seek the truth.”
— U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.
“I have long believed that Alberto Gonzales subverted justice to promote a political agenda … He never came clean about the firing of eight U.S. attorneys; he never told the truth about that. He never came clean about the wiretapping and surveillance of U.S. citizens; he never told the truth about that. Contrary to his responsibility to uphold the Constitution, he planned and encouraged the violation of civil liberties in this country. Even though he was the highest law enforcement official in the land, he was evasive and known for stonewalling efforts to determine the facts in a lawful investigation. It was time for Attorney General Gonzales to go.”
— U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.
“The tenure of Attorney General Gonzales has been one mired with controversy, ranging from the inhumane treatment of detainees in Guantanamo Bay to illegal wiretapping to accusations of politicized firings of federal prosecutors. The allegations that have been raised against Attorney General Gonzales are very serious and have severely impaired the credibility and the appearance of impartiality in the Justice Department. Any system of law must not only ensure equality and impartiality, but also that there is not even an appearance of unfairness in the system.”
— U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md.
“[Gonzales] has exhibited a lack of candor with Congress and the American people and a disdain for the rule of law and our constitutional system. I strongly urge President Bush to nominate a new attorney general who will respect our laws and restore the integrity of the office.”
— U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass.
“[Gonzales] demonstrated that his loyalties lie with the president and his political agenda, not the American people or the evenhanded and impartial enforcement of our laws. … My hope is that the president will select a new attorney general who will respect the rule of law and abandon partisanship, who will serve the American people and not the president’s political ideology, and who will answer to the Constitution and not political operatives.”
— U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.
“Alberto Gonzales turned the Justice Department into a political arm of the White House, and he should have resigned long ago. From the firings of the U.S. attorneys to evasion about illegal wiretapping, Gonzales single-handedly damaged the integrity of our legal system and subverted efforts to get to the truth. This is a critical moment. President Bush can either continue on a divisive and destructive path, or choose in the next attorney general someone who knows they’re not the president’s lawyer, but rather the nation’s top law enforcement officer. The president should choose a replacement that gives the department a fresh start, untainted by controversy; and even with Gonzales gone, Congress must keep pushing until we get truth and accountability on unanswered questions involving everything from illegal wiretapping to the U.S. attorneys scandal.”
— U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass.
“This is a great, great development. … The next attorney general has to understand that his primary loyalty is to the Constitution and the rule of law and that sometimes he has to tell the president ‘no.’”
— Fired New Mexico U.S. Attorney David Iglesias
“It is a good thing for the Department of Justice and it’s an opportunity for those career professionals to begin to focus on what is important, and that is the administration of justice.”
— Fired Arizona U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton
“There comes a time when if you don’t have the respect of the Congress and the American public and your own people in the department, then it’s time to step down.”
— Fired Nevada U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden
“I don’t think he would have ever had to resign until they were able to hang the U.S. attorneys’ firings around his neck … To me, it could all be written off to miscommunication and bad judgment and probably could have been forgiven until they made a conscious decision to be willing to throw some of the U.S. attorneys under the bus.”
— Fired Arkansas U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins
“Al Gonzales is a man of integrity, decency and principle. … After months of unfair treatment that has created a harmful distraction at the Justice Department, Judge Gonzales decided to resign his position and I accept his decision. It’s sad that … his good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons.”
— President Bush
“I have lived the American dream. Even my worst days as attorney general have been better than my father’s best days.”
— Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
|
