Welcome to Gonzales Watch - Blawging the Ex-Attorney General

The results of today’s Senate vote on the no-confidence resolution co-sponsored by Senate Democrats are:

For the Resolution (’Yeahs’): 53

Against the Resolution (’Neahs’): 38

There was a length Senate debate on the resolution.

Noteworthy votes included:

Sen. Arlen Specter, the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, voted for the no-confidence resolution.

* Sen. Joseph Lieberman (Dem. - Conn.), voted against the resolution. He argued that the resolution was a waste of time, and defended his vote by saying that “[i]t is an expression of opposition to spending any more time on a resolution that will accomplish nothing, instead of going ahead with the next item of business, which is energy legislation.”

The U.S. Senate is now voting on the no-confidence resolution in U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Check back for the final tally.

The Democrat-led U.S. Senate will vote on the no-confidence resolution introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer (Dem. - N.Y.) and Sen. Diane Feinstein (Dem. - Calif.) today.

Although the resolution has no legal force, it’s a timely reminder that the Department of Justice remains in disarray and is stuck in a dysfunctional state unless and until the politcally motivated firing of career U.S. Attorneys is resolved.

Yesterday the White House press office said that Bush wasn’t concerned about the vote becuase it was “[p]urely a symbolic vote.”

What would resolving the U.S. Attorney firings debacle mean? That is the question.

DOJ Inspector General Glenn Fine is moving ahead on an in-house probe of the firings, but it seems very unlikely that he will probe his boss. He a had heated legal battle with Gonzales early last year that the Attorney General is not likely to forget.

It’s equally unlikely that Gonzales will resign. Like a Texas jack-rabbit, Gonzales has promised to “sprint to the finish line” of Bush’s term.

The title says it all: “Oust Gonzales, Pardon Libby.” Syndicated conservative columnist Robert Novak writes today that GOP loyalists have a choice to make between supporting U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales or urging a pardon of ‘Scooter’ Libby, the convicted former Chief of Staff to Add to del.icio.us − Post a comment (0)