4.19.07 senate judiciary committee hearing testimony: attorney general alberto gonzales

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updated with
hearing highlights
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sen. arlen specter,
the ranking republican:

specter @ 9:46 a.m.:

". . .did you review and evaluate carol lam?

bud cummins?

iglesius?

how can you say this is 'limited involvment'?

are you being candid?

do you have sound judgment?

. . .your statements are totally
at variance with the facts. . ."

specter is simply saying alberto
gonzales is both a liar — and, mr.
gonzales is plainly admitting to
being an incompetent. . .

now, that should be the end.

but plainly, with this white house,
more will be required -- given its
proclivity for ignoring reality. . .

the reality is that the republicans
have lost confidence in him. . .
he should step down.

specter @ 4:37 p.m.:

". . .looking at ms. lam's
performance, IS
in fact, making a decision about
whether she should be retained. . .
to suggest otherwise seems
disinegnous, at best. . .

. . .here, inevitably, you have lost
credibility. . . we will continue to
investigate your role, here. . ."

sen. chuck schumer @ 4:40 p.m.:

". . . you answered 'i don't know'
or "i don't recall' to nearly 100 questions. . .

. . .for the good of the department,
and for the good of the country,
mr. gonzales, you should step down. . .

senator patrick leahy @ 4:47 p.m.:

. . .politics have entered the
department of justice to an unprec-
edented extent under you. . .

you are the attorney general of
the united states -- not of the
president. . .

. . .your unprecedented invasion of
americans' privacy with FISA surveillance
and warrantless searches. . . i am
more concerned that ever in my history
here, about the state of the DoJ. . .

and then, at 4:50 p.m., the
gallery crowd sang "nah, nah, nah, good bye. . ."
on audible record of cspan3. . .

one shouts "74 times he said, 'i don't recall'. . ."

post-hearing on cspan3. . .

sen. chuck schumer @ 4:55 p.m.:

". . .kyle sampson testified under oath,
earlier this week, that he did not add a
single name to the list.

mr. gonzales said sampson was the decider.

that can't be right. mr. gonzales said he wasn't
the decider. . . then, that points to the white house."

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end updated
portion. . .
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mr. gonzales' moment before
the senate judiciary committee, it
seems -- finally -- has arrived.

so, settle in, pop the popcorn,
and get ready to be stultified!

the new york times has a pretty-
passable primer on what to expect. . .

and, i will place live links
here -- in this space -- to the
various video-feeds of his testimony. . .

here's a real player stand-alone link. . .

and, at the senate judiciary committee's website. . .