Welcome to Gonzales Watch - Blawging the Ex-Attorney General

A review of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ 25-pages of prepared testimony slated for tomorrow’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing paints a portrait of America’s top prosecutor determined to make his last stand.

Gonzlaes’ own words show that he’s in a desperate situation right now. The fact that his statement is so lengthy shows that he is doing everything possible to take time away from the Committee, and divert attention to topics for which he can either try and claim success (terror-related convictions), or for which the public may be less likely to criticize him (e.g., prosecuting pedophiles and sexual predators).

The Attorney General is asserting a “Cool Hand Luke” defense: that if he’s guilty of anything, it’s only a failure to communicate effectively with the U.S. Attorneys under his charge. He acknowledges that “in all cases, I should have communicated [the DOJ’s] concerns [to prosecutors who were fired] more effectively, and I should have informed them of my decisions in a more dignified manner.”

Lack of dignity is not a federal offense. Giving false testimony is, however. As Ranking Senate Judiciary Committee Member Sen. Arlen Specter emphasized on ABC’s meet the press yesterday, if Gonzales fails to testify truthfully about his knowledge and role in the prosecutors’ firings, he could face up to five years in in jail for lying under oath. Even the Justice Department’s U.S. Attorney’s Manual gives detailed background information on prosecuting people accused of giving false testimony under oath.

The Attorney General almost certainly will not be able to read from his entire prepared testimony. Doing so would take precious time away from the Committee and intent on getting to the bottom of the firings debacle. It would also give Gonzales a certain degree control over the proceedings. The Committee will never let this happen.

The overwhelming majority of issues covered by Gonzales in his statement are simply attempts at diverting attention from the subject at hand. The average American is probably less likely to care about the Attorney General’s discussion of gang violence, domestic violence, intellectual property crimes, and Native American law enforcement issues. Today’s Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that they simply don’t trust Gonzales’ ability to tell the truth. When he says he’s done “nothing improper,” they don’t believe him.

Not since the days of Watergate when former President Nixon tried, unsuccessfully, to tell America: “I am not a crook,” will serious attention be paid to Gonzales statements. The public, lawyers, and politicians of every persuasion will be watching.