Attorney General Roberto Gonzales is back in Congress today, testifying before the Judicial Committee. His last performance in Congress may have been the most embarrassing performance in the history of his office. He answered questions with "I don't know" or "I don't recall" at least 70 times in that notorious session, demonstrating a cringingly blissful willingness to appear ignorant in public. The Attorney General is the number one lawyer in America. Though lawyers take a sometimes-deserved beating for their behavior in this country, no one denies that lawyers, as a group, are a pretty smart lot. The number one lawyer in America should be an impressive intellect, a skilled communicator, and deft in law. Gonzales looks like a fool every time he opens his mouth. He may be the dumbest public official since DanQuayle. And at least Quayle had the common sense to keep his mouth shut and be thought a fool, rather than opening it and erasing the doubt.
I do not understand why Congress won't impeach him. He clearly lacks the brain power to do his job. He oversaw a group firing of U.S. Attorneys that was obviously less than proper, and has publicly admitted he had no control or understanding of the situation. That is a public admission of incompetence if there ever was one. He also refuses to help Congress in its investigation, which is a violation of public trust. Political appointees aren't called public servants for nothing. Every public appointee has a responsibility to account for his actions to the public when asked. I understand that Gonzales is asserting executive privilege (the right of the president to keep personal advice private), but the President's right to privacy is superseded by the public's right to bring wrongdoing to light, unless national security is at stake. In this situation, it clearly is not.
The Attorney General has maintained repeatedly that the government has the right to violate the privacy of citizens for the public good. Why would the President's right to privacy be any different than yours or mine? If Gonzales has a legal right to listen in on your phone conversations, why don't you, as a citizen, have the right to know if he recommended firing 8 U.S. Attorneys for pure political reasons? Today Gonzales will ask Congress to renew FISA, the Federal Intelligence Security Act, a law that allows the Executive Branch broad powers of search and seizure without the usual search warrant. Would you call it hypocrisy to argue that the White House should be allowed to secretly snoop on private citizens while asserting that Congress has no right to ask questions about illegalities in the Department of Justice? I wouldn't. It is plain stupidity.
The House of Representatives needs to pull out a copy of the impeachment form, write "Incompetent" under reason for impeachment, and vote to impeach the Attorney General. At that point, Gonzales would be tried in the Senate on grounds of incompetence. If, during the trial, he continued to defend himself with his pitiful "I don't know" and "I don't recall," the Senate would have to remove him. If he tells the truth, he could save himself but would likely bring down the entire Bush administration, since it is clear that Bush and Cheney are directing him to keep quiet.