April 8, 2007
Former Deputy A.G. Under Reagan: Gonzales Lacks Independence and Loyalty to Justice
- Alberto Gonzales
- White House
- Dept. of Justice
- Gonzales Resignation
- Pres. George W. Bush
- Harold Christensen
Alberto Gonzales is getting criticism from a former senior Justice Department official under Ronald Reagan, Utah trial and appeals lawyer Harold Christensen.
In 1988 Christensen served as Acting U.S. Attorney General for several months after Edwina Meese resigned from the DOJ’s top position, until Richard ‘Dick’ Thornburgh was appointed to the new role.
Christensen’s primary role was as Deputy Attorney General under Meese and Thornburgh. He is an experienced litigator.
In an interview with the Salt Lake City Tribune, Christensen suggested that Gonzales fails to appreciate that a U.S. Attorney must remain independent of political winds that can shift blow down from the White House. Gonzales’ loyalty to President Bush may have clouded his professional judgment:
The attorney general must not be tethered to the political skirts of the White House, Christensen said…”[Alberto Gonzales] doesn’t get it. His loyalty to the president has gotten in the way of his loyalty to the department and to justice.”
A U.S. Attorney General who sorely lacks a sense of loyalty to the administration of justice is no longer able to serve the country’s legal needs.
[…] Independence and Loyalty to Justice, Alberto Gonzales, White House, Dept. of Justice, Gonzales …http://www.gonzaleswatch.com/2007/04/08/former-deputy-ag-under-reagan-gonzales-lacks-independence-an…Coleman??s speech - Minneapolis Star TribuneFor seventeen years, I worked in the Minnesota attorney […]