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You are here: Home / Politics / Abu Gonzales, Meet Oversight

Abu Gonzales, Meet Oversight

by Tim F|  April 5, 200712:32 pm| 36 Comments

This post is in: Politics

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Hobby horse time!

Question: How can you tell when a government agency has gone for years without effective oversight?
Answer: It gets sloppy, keeps poor records and starts breaking the law.

Question 2: What happens when oversight comes back?
Answer 2.

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales has retreated from public view this week in an intensive effort to save his job, spending hours practicing testimony and phoning lawmakers for support in preparation for pivotal appearances in the Senate this month, according to administration officials.

After struggling for weeks to explain the extent of his involvement in the firings of eight U.S. attorneys, Gonzales and his aides are viewing the Senate testimony on April 12 and April 17 as seriously as if it were a confirmation proceeding for a Supreme Court or a Cabinet appointment, officials said.

Ed Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman, and Timothy E. Flanigan, who worked for Gonzales at the White House, have met with the attorney general to plot strategy. The department has scheduled three days of rigorous mock testimony sessions next week and Gonzales has placed phone calls to more than a dozen GOP lawmakers seeking support, officials said.

Let’s clarify that in a normal administration the Attorney General’s panic would make no sense. Clinton officials, who spent half their time sitting in front of hostile committees, didn’t drop their jobs and cram for weeks before appearing. If the decisions surrounding the US Attorney purge left the normal kind of paper trail then Gonzales could just produce those to Congress and then answer questions about them. Maybe reasons were innocuous, maybe they were a little bit shady, whatever. Unless they spell out an explicit illegality like conspiracy to obstruct justice Gonzo wouldn’t have to sweat like a prospective contestant on Who Wants To Be Incarcerated?

As I see it the problem mainly stems from the simple point that when people operate without oversight, they get sloppy. That holds especially true for Bushies since the quality of a policy fades in importance relative its ideological purity. Without an effective check these guys always run off into crazy Feith world. So when Gonzo lied about something as banal as whether he or Rove played a role in the firings I don’t think he meant to cover up a specific crime as much as he was simply showing his usual contempt for Congress. He lied because yesterday’s Congress didn’t seem to care one way or the other. Old habits die hard.

***Update***

Add another couple nights to the cram session.

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Reader Interactions

36Comments

  1. 1.

    Don

    April 5, 2007 at 12:44 pm

    I think Who Wants To Be A Medium-Security Inmate works better.

  2. 2.

    S.W. Anderson

    April 5, 2007 at 12:48 pm

    I think you’re dead right about the sloppiness and Gonzales’ habit of unchallenged dishonesty catching up with him at last.

    Meanwhile, on top of everything else, we who actually pay taxes are supporting his generous salary and having to shell out God knows how much to Gillespie, Flanigan and undoubtedly a bunch of others. All that to help this shyster keep a job he’s clearly unsuited for and never should’ve been appointed to.

    What a typical Bush administration situation.

  3. 3.

    Jimmmm

    April 5, 2007 at 12:49 pm

    But really, would you RATHER Gonzales concentrate on being AG? I mean, at least this way he’s not fucking things up even worse, just trying to get unfucked.

  4. 4.

    Mr Furious

    April 5, 2007 at 12:50 pm

    Oops.

    Remember one of the DOJ excuses for firing Iglesias? He was “an absentee landlord” who spent too much time away from the job? Because he was in the Navy reserves fer crissakes!

    Well, it seems that it’s illegal to fire somebody for that.

  5. 5.

    ThymeZone

    April 5, 2007 at 12:54 pm

    What happens when oversight comes back?

    Suddenly, the sinners get religion.

    This has been Obvious Answers to Simple Questions.

  6. 6.

    Baby Jane

    April 5, 2007 at 12:58 pm

    That last paragraph sounds like a desperate last excuse from a lawyer for Gonzales.

  7. 7.

    Jake

    April 5, 2007 at 1:02 pm

    As I see it the problem mainly stems from the simple point that when people operate without oversight, they get sloppy.

    Yes, normal people do tend to get sloppy without adequate oversight. But normal people don’t go out of their way to first scuttle any attempts at oversight. I don’t see this as a bunch of basically good people who let things go because there was no boss breathing down their neck. That was Goner’s job, no? This is more like a gang of crooks who bypass the security alarms and smash the surveillance cameras so they can empty the store in peace. Or perhaps it’s more like a gang of thugs who know the cops will look the other because they get their cut of the parking lot bargain sale.

  8. 8.

    Zifnab

    April 5, 2007 at 1:09 pm

    You would not tolerate this kind of response time in a Justice Department investigation where months go by without answers and when those answers are finally provided they are outdated or superseded by events. That is not conducive to effective oversight.

    ~ Senator Leahy

    I mean this in the best possible way, but he kinda almost sounds like the big walking tank from Robocop.

    Drop your weapon, lower yourself to the floor, and put your hands behind your head. You have fifteen seconds to comply. … You have ten seconds to comply.

    Mr. Gonzales, I would suggest you do as he says.

  9. 9.

    norbizness

    April 5, 2007 at 1:15 pm

    For some reason, I see his training sabbatical being scored by Joe Esposito from the Karate Kid soundtrack:

    “Try to be best / ‘Cause you’re only a man / And a man’s gotta learn to take it

    Try to believe / Though the going gets rough /That you gotta hang tough to make it

    History repeats itself / Try and you’ll succeed / Never doubt that you’re the one / And you can have your dreams!

    You’re the best! Around! Nothing’s gonna ever keep you down!

    You’re the Best! Around! Nothing’s gonna ever keep you down!”

  10. 10.

    norbizness

    April 5, 2007 at 1:16 pm

    And, come to think about it, he does look a little bit like Ralph Macchio. But who’s his Elisabeth Shue?

  11. 11.

    Cyrus

    April 5, 2007 at 1:36 pm

    “Three days of rigorous mock testimony sessions”? If he spends all that time getting ready and his testimony turns out to include as much hedging, dodges and memory lapses as history indicates is likely, there damn well better be some kind of legal penalty.

  12. 12.

    Rome Again

    April 5, 2007 at 1:41 pm

    and phoning lawmakers for support in preparation for pivotal appearances in the Senate this month, according to administration officials

    The AG is in the hot seat so he calls up members of Congress and asks the to lob softball questions? WTF?

  13. 13.

    gus

    April 5, 2007 at 1:47 pm

    In a normal administration he would have resigned 6 weeks ago. Hell, in a normal administration he wouldn’t have been appointed.

  14. 14.

    Zifnab

    April 5, 2007 at 1:47 pm

    “Three days of rigorous mocking testimony sessions”

    Fixed for specificitude.

  15. 15.

    Rome Again

    April 5, 2007 at 1:51 pm

    Hell, in a normal administration he wouldn’t have been appointed.

    True.

  16. 16.

    Ripley

    April 5, 2007 at 2:01 pm

    The obvious question: If Gonzo is spending 3+ days preparing for his appearance before Congress, who’s protecting the kids?!? That was his “thing”, right? Protecting the kids? Once he got those pesky Geneva Convention issues off his desk, anyway.

    These people can’t even do spin right, anymore. The Hague is too good for them.

  17. 17.

    Jimmmm

    April 5, 2007 at 2:02 pm

    Duh, Norby. Monica Goodling is Elisabeth Shue.

  18. 18.

    Jimmmm

    April 5, 2007 at 2:08 pm

    Joke Line still thinks GonzoGate isn’t that important. Under what rock has Klein been hibernating? So far, to quote a Democratic lawmaker, every tree the newly-empowered House and Senate investigations has barked up has had a cat in it.

    When the smart money says that Rover was trying to plant a friendly USA in Hitlery’s backyard (and he would have tried in Obama’s, but the USA there was Fitz), then you can be sure that’s what’s gonna turn up. Ditto for the phony voter fraud canard. There’s prolly more steak there than sizzle, fer chrissakes. So far, no guess has been too wild, no scenario of GOP malfeasance has proven too zany.

    But Klein persists: “[He] considers Attorneygate, compared to the others, to be “a relatively minor matter.” Oy!

    http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003567882

  19. 19.

    Perry Como

    April 5, 2007 at 2:28 pm

    The obvious question: If Gonzo is spending 3+ days preparing for his appearance before Congress, who’s protecting the kids?!? That was his “thing”, right? Protecting the kids?

    Unless it involves the Texas Youth Commission. You know, from his home state.

  20. 20.

    Tsulagi

    April 5, 2007 at 2:31 pm

    spent too much time away from the job? Because he was in the Navy reserves fer crissakes!

    Yeah, I liked that one too. It was reported earlier.

    So because Iglesias was fulfilling his Navy Reserve commitment while doing his day job, he was a bad apple. Not around enough for the really important stuff: proving loyalty to Bush and pushing initiatives to keep party members in power.

  21. 21.

    norbizness

    April 5, 2007 at 2:38 pm

    I always saw Monica Goodling as the toady who sneers “I DIDN’T KNOW IT WAS ‘TAKE A WORM FOR A WALK’ WEEK!!!” but then the whole analogy gets fucked up.

  22. 22.

    srv

    April 5, 2007 at 3:04 pm

    I think he’s really practicing all the different ways to plead the 5th.

  23. 23.

    Jake

    April 5, 2007 at 3:11 pm

    spending hours practicing testimony and phoning lawmakers for support

    Orrin hold my hand, I’m scared!

    Sounds like Goner needs a diaper change.

  24. 24.

    Blue Neponset

    April 5, 2007 at 3:20 pm

    I am interested to see whether Gonzo chooses the wickedly corrupt, wickedly incompetent or the wickedly forgetful line of responses. My money is on wickedly forgetful.

  25. 25.

    The Other Steve

    April 5, 2007 at 3:29 pm

    Gonezo is practicing, “I couldn’t possibly interpret what Mr. Smith was saying that memo. Perhaps you should ask Mr. Smith.”

  26. 26.

    Bubblegum Tate

    April 5, 2007 at 4:14 pm

    I think he’s really practicing all the different ways to plead the 5th.

    Cue the Chappelle’s Show sketch. “I plead the fizzifth!”

  27. 27.

    Chad N. Freude

    April 5, 2007 at 4:26 pm

    My money is on wickedly forgetful.

    Right. It takes three days of intense rehearsing to forget that much.

  28. 28.

    Chad N. Freude

    April 5, 2007 at 4:29 pm

    I couldn’t possibly interpret understand what Mr. Smith was saying in plain English [in] that memo. Perhaps you should ask Mr. Smith.

    Fixed.

  29. 29.

    Andrew

    April 5, 2007 at 4:49 pm

    Duh, Norby. Monica Goodling is Elisabeth Shue.

    Hot.

  30. 30.

    BadTux

    April 5, 2007 at 8:01 pm

    Crap, how much practice does it take to say “I don’t remember” and “I really don’t recall” time after time, over and over again? ‘Cause you know that’s all the weaselly little turdball is gonna do. Crap, he’s gonna make Ronald Reagan look like a dude with a steel-vault memory when all’s said and done.

  31. 31.

    Otto Man

    April 6, 2007 at 8:14 am

    And, come to think about it, he does look a little bit like Ralph Macchio. But who’s his Elisabeth Shue?

    I’m betting on Rachel Paulose.

  32. 32.

    Rome Again

    April 6, 2007 at 10:01 am

    Crap, he’s gonna make Ronald Reagan look like a dude with a steel-vault memory when all’s said and done.

    It should be an interesting performance. Wish I could watch it live, I’ll have to wait until later and get the recap.

  33. 33.

    The Kid

    April 6, 2007 at 10:30 am

    I disagree completely. This is not about sloppiness. This was a concerted effort to politicize the entire Justice Department into another arm of the Republican party. This is a very insidious danger. Other screwups and schemes of Bush and Co. have been more destructive in the short term but I don’t think that anything could have done more damage to the American way of life than this nefarious plan had it succeeded. Anyone who doesn’t see this for the very horrible danger that it is is a damned fool. Calling it merely sloppy management is only slightly less foolish.

  34. 34.

    Rome Again

    April 6, 2007 at 11:01 am

    So it sounds like both Monica Goodling and Rachel Paulose were membere of Abu’s harem?

Comments are closed.

Trackbacks

  1. Gonzales Fights for his Job « Michael P.F. van der Galiën says:
    April 5, 2007 at 12:55 pm

    […] More at The Huffington Post, Balloon Juice and the Wall Street Journal blog. […]

  2. disco » Abu Gonzales, Meet Oversight says:
    April 6, 2007 at 9:24 am

    […] Administrator wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptLet’s clarify that in a normal administration Gonzales’s panic would make no sense. Clinton officials, who spent half their time sitting in front of hostile committees, didn’t drop their jobs and cram for weeks before appearing. … […]

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