Welcome to Gonzales Watch - Blawging the Ex-Attorney General

In a topic that the U.S. Attorney doesn’t always put on his agenda, Alberto Gonzales told the Detroit Economic Club today what it was like growing up in a family of immigrants from Mexico:

I grew up in a large family descended from Mexican immigrants, who had come to America with nothing more than their names, their work ethic, and their desire to make a better life for themselves and their children. They saw America through the eyes of immigrants, with the hope and reverence that many of us have sadly forgotten.
Growing up I learned how America’s founders had written that “all men are created equal.” But still I had the uncomfortable knowledge that some folks didn’t see me as just “Alberto Gonzales.” They might see me as Hispanic, or as being inferior because I looked different or was from a certain, poor neighborhood. I knew that some people I encountered in life might miss the other important things about me because of that narrow view.
My mother told me stories of not being able to go into a restaurant except through the back door. And I remember visiting the graves of relatives buried in the “Mexican section” of a cemetery.
My experiences were not unlike those of so many other American minorities.

Gonzales recently testified before the U.S. Senate that immigration cases are the largest category of lawsuits filed by the Department of Justice (”Nearly one third of the 60,000 new cases”). His own family’s immigration status notwithstanding, the country’s top lawyer in charge of prosecuting immigration-related offenses recently admitted “immigration enforcement is such a high priority for the Department, [and] I am committed to doing more.”

His statements today also seem to be at odds with his defense of former U.S. Attorney Carol Lam who led immigration-related prosecutions in Southern California along the border with Mexico. Lam received heated political critcism from Rep. Darrell Issa (Rep. - Cal.) about her role as U.S. Attorney. Issa reportedly contacted Karl Rove at the White House to discuss his unhappiness with Lam, and allegedly sought her ouster. Lam is now a Senior Vice President and Legal Counsel at Qualcom.

In a unanimous voice vote this morning, the House Judiciary Committee approved supoenas seeking to force White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove, former White House Counsel Harriet Miers, and other staff to testify under oath about what, if any, involvement they had in the firing of eight (8) U.S. Attorneys around the country.

What is surprising is that Rep. Darrell Issa (Rep. - Cal.), one of 37 Committee Members. member of the Committee, was reportedly involved in questioning fired U.S. Attorney Carol Lam (of the Southern District of San Diego) about her immigration record.

Issa has not, so far, suggested that he would recuse himself from any House Judiciary Committee proceedings on this matter. Given the frequency of his name coming up as the investigation has evolved, however, the congressman’s recusal seems appropriate.

Technorati: U.S. Attorneys, Alberto Gonzales, White House Counsel, Karl Rove, John Conyers, Harriet Miers, Darrell Issa, Carol Lam