USA: US President George W Bush lashes out at critics of US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales following his resignation

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned on Monday (August 27, 2007), ending a controversial tenure as chief U.S. law enforcement officer that blemished the administration of President George W. Bush. Gonzales is the latest member of Bush's inner circle to leave the White House as the administration heads toward the final year of its two-term reign. Top Bush adviser Karl Rove departed last week, following former communications director Dan Bartlett earlier this year. Gonzales worked for Bush when he was governor of Texas in the 1990s. He served as White House lawyer in Bush's first term as president before becoming the first Hispanic attorney general in February 2005. Current and former administration officials had said the department's integrity had been damaged under Gonzales with controversy over the firing of the prosecutors, his support for Bush's warrantless domestic spying program adopted after the Sept. 11 attacks and other issues. Gonzales announced at the Justice Department that his resignation would take effect on September 17. He refused to take questions from reporters and gave no reason for his sudden decision to depart after months of controversy. "I have lived the American dream," said Gonzales, a son of migrant workers who began working for Bush when the president was still the governor of Texas. "Even my worst days as attorney general have been better than my father's best days," he said. A 52-year-old Bush loyalist, Gonzales was at the center of a political firestorm over the sacking of federal prosecutors last year, which critics in Congress said were politically motivated. He faced a possible perjury investigation for his testimony before Congress. A few protesters gathered outside the Justice Department in Washington D.C, shouting for Gonzales to head back to Texas and read the constitution. Before becoming the chief U.S. law enforcement official, Gonzales drew fire from critics of U.S. interrogation policy for writing in January 2002 that parts of the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war were "obsolete" and some provisions "quaint." Officials complained that employee morale at the Justice Department had been hurt during Gonzales' tenure and that the attorney general's relations with the Democrats and some Republicans in Congress had deteriorated beyond repair. While acknowledging mistakes in the handling of the dismissals, Gonzales had denied the firings were politically motivated to influence federal probes involving Democratic or Republican lawmakers. President George W. Bush lashed out at critics of Gonzales, accusing them of dragging his name "through the mud." En route to Texas to attend Republican fund-raisers, called Gonzales a man of integrity, decency and principle, and said he had reluctantly accepted the resignation, which came "after months of unfair treatment that has created a harmful distraction at the Justice Department." "It's sad that we live in a time when a talented and honorable person like Alberto Gonzales is impeded from doing important work because his good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons," he added. U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement will serve as acting attorney general, a Bush administration official said, amid speculation that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff could be a candidate for a permanent replacement.

ITN Source | August 28, 2007

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