Welcome to Gonzales Watch - Blawging the Ex-Attorney General

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is busy preparing to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in two weeks. He’s canceled family vacation time to hunker down with preparations.

This morning’s Washington Post reports that Gonzales is getting help from former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie and former Deputy White House Counsel Timothy Flanigan. They’re said to be putting him through days of mock testimony. This is the kind of stuff that helps trial lawyers earn their contigency fees.

Dismissing repeated calls for his resignation over the politically charged firings of eight (8) U.S. Attorneys, the country’s top law enforcement officer is standing his ground.

The trickiest issue for Gonzales appears to be keeping clear of legal conflicts with other Justice Department aides who either already testified, or like Monica Goodling, are being repeatedly sought by Congress to give sworn testimony about what, if any, knoweldge and role they had in the firing of the eight former federal prosecutors.

One anonymous senior aide to Gonzales told the Washington Post that keeping clear of legal conflicts has been a challenge: “We are hampered because some senior officials are not able to discuss the facts as they know them in the same room, for fears of additional accusations of misleading Congress.”

A USA Today report suggests that a number of Republicans believe that Texas two-step loyalty is what still keeps Pres. Bush loyal to Attorney General Gonzales.

“Former Justice Department spokesman Mark Corallo, say Lone Star loyalty “is the only reason Gonzales is still around.” He says Gonzales should step down over mismanagement of the U.S. attorneys flap.”