Welcome to Gonzales Watch - Blawging the Ex-Attorney General

Perhaps the most thorough grilling of U.S. Attorney General Gonzales before the House Committee on the Judiciary today was from Rep. Robert Wexler (Dem. - Fla.).

In the relatively short time that he was alloted, Wexler put the Attorney General through a meticulous grilling. What remains most impressive about his questioning of Gonzales (who testified under oath), is that he secured admissions from Gonzales about who did not decide to fire the former U.S. Attorney for New Mexico, David Iglesias.

By process of elimination, Wexler’s examination suggests that an even more credible case could emerge as White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove being the one who might have been responsible for Iglesias’ termination.

Here are excerpts from today’s exchange between Rep. Wexler and Attorney General Gonzales. Please note that inadvertent omissions of complete sentences and testimony from both parties are likely to be missing, due to an inability to simultaneously type the entire transcript verbatim during the hearing. You’ll get the gist. Feel free to comment, and link to, missing portions of the testimony.

Wexler: Karl Rove spoke with you about voter fraud in New Mexcio in Oct. 2006?

Gonzales: Yes.

Wexler: Iglesias appeared on the list on Election Day in November 2006

Gonzales: Yes, I believe so.

Wexler: You did not select him [for the list].

Gonzales: No.

Wexler: Kyle Sampson testified that he did not select [the U.S. Attorneys on the list].

Gonzales: No.

Wexler: Did McNulty select them?

Gonzales: No.

Wexler: Did Margolies select them?

Gonzales: No.

Wexler: Did the President select him?

Gonzales: No.

Wexler: Did the Vice President select him?

Gonzales: No.

Wexler: All of the Assistant and former U.S. Attorneys did not select them?

Gonzales: No.

Wexler: You made a decision as to “accepting” the list

You won’t tell the American people who you put the former U.S. Attorney on the list. It’s the great national secret!

Wexler: So you don’t know who put him [Iglesias] on the list?

Gonzales: I wasn’t surprised to see him on the list

Wexler: You will not come forth and tell the American people who put Mr. Iglesias on the list to fire him.

Do you know what Mr. Moschella told the Committee? He was an “absentee landlord”

Gonzales: I haven’t made any decision with respect to Mr. Iglesias.

Wexler: But you, Mr. attorney general, don’t you run the Department of Justice?