Welcome to Gonzales Watch - Blawging the Ex-Attorney General

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (Dem. - Vt.) is on a roll.

He just fired off a follow-up request to White House Counsel Fred Fielding “to provide relevant documents and access to White House staff who played significant roles in” firing U.S. attorneys in a political and legal controversy.

Leahy seeks documents involving, and interviews with: White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, White House Political Director Sara Taylor, Former White House Counsel Harriet Miers, Scott Jennings, and former Deputy White House Counsel William Kelly.

Yesterday Leahy and Ranking Committee Member Arlen Specter followed up on their May 2, 2007 subpoena of Attorney General Gonzales, holding him accountable for his failure to either respond, or explain why he could not respond, to the Committee’s demand for e-mail correspondence and attachments involving White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove.

Here is his latest demand:

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (Dem. - Vt.) and Ranking Member Arlen Specter (Rep. - Penn.) sent U.S. Attorney General Gonzales a harshly worded letter late yesterday (inset, below) after Gonzales failed to comply with Committee’s the May 2, 2006 subpoena.

The Committee’s original subpoena gave Gonzales a deadline of yesterday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. EST to provide it with e-mails and attachments to, from, or copying White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove.

That subpoena sought e-mails and attachments from Rove’s: “(1) White House [e-mail] account, (2) Republican National Committee [e-mail] account, or [3] other account, in the possession, custody, or control of the Department of Justice” that related to the “hiring, firing, and decision-making of United States Attorneys.”

After giving the Justice Department’s top lawyer a ‘Tsk-Tsk’ for ignoring the Committee’s subpoena, they scolded him further: “You should at least have provided in writing the specific reasons for not producing any responsive documents, including any objections to the subpoena or privileges claimed by the Department.”

On behalf of the bipartisan Committee, today Leahy and Spector gave Gonzales a second chance to comply with the subpoena. He now has until Friday May 18, 2007 at 10:00 a.m. EST to provide the previously subpoenaed materials.

Yesterday Gonzales was busy snickering at the removal of a protestor who called for his resignation while he spoke talk National Press Club.

At the conclusion of his speech, Gonzales told reporters that he had more important priorities to deal with than the U.S. Attorney firings investigation, retreating to his usual defense that he remains too busy catching terrorists, working on gang violence, and hunting down pedophiles.

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales failed to timely provide subpoenaed e-mail correspondence and related correspondence between White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and Department of Justice offices.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (Dem. - Vt.) and Ranking Member Arlen Specter (Rep. - Penn.) subpoenaed the e-mails and other communications from the Attorney General on May 2, 2006, giving him two weeks to comply and gather the subpoenaed materials. The Senate Judiciary Committee continues to investigate the communication and possible influence that White House officials had with the Justice Department in connection with the firing of career U.S. Attorneys.

Under the terms of the subpoena, Gonzales had a deadline of 2:00 p.m. EST to provide the materials to the Committee.