Wolfowitz Resigned

Wolfowitz was facing a vote of no confidence so he resigned. Funny Gonzo is facing a vote of no confidence yet he’s still in charge of the DoJ.

World Bank President Paul D. Wolfowitz resigned this afternoon, effective June 30, giving in to overwhelming pressure from bank staff and governments around the globe that he depart to end the ethics controversy that has consumed the institution.

Wolfowitz agreed to resign in negotiations with the bank’s executive board, pre-empting a growing likelihood that he would have been formally reprimanded or fired, said bank officials who spoke on condition they not be named, citing the political sensitivity of the proceedings.

But by Wednesday morning, it had become clear that Wolfowitz was fighting an unwinnable battle. European governments, who have been leading the effort to oust him, preferred to avoid a vote to fire him, which would have risked an open conflict with the Bush administration. But the German and British representatives on the board had obtained the backing of their governments to take action to remove him, officials said.

At the same time, President Bush — who appointed him to the bank two years ago, and who had been a resolute supporter — was sending increasingly clear signals it was time for Wolfowitz to move on.

What Happened To Dole, Shalala Investigation on Walter Reed?

What ever happened to the Dole, Shalala investigation on Walter Reed?  Remember they were picked by Bush in March to et to the bottom of the VA problems.

This article ran in the Washington Post on March 7, 2007.

The co-chairmen of a new bipartisan presidential commission charged with looking into the care of wounded service members vowed today to conduct a comprehensive and vigorous investigation, possibly leading to recommendations that could change the system for decades.

Former senator Robert J. Dole, a Republican from Kansas who was seriously wounded in World War II, and former health and human services secretary Donna E. Shalala, a Democrat who served for eight years in the Clinton administration, told reporters after a meeting at the White House that President Bush wants them to look at the entire military care system following revelations of shortcomings at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

So what happen to the investigation? I haven’t heard anything. I even Googled it and all the articles are from March. Is this just another pretend we’re doing something because the lights on us.

If you find something let me know because I would hate the idea of “support the troops” means its just a media sound bite.

Conyers and Nadler Write to AG Gonzales

From the Gavel

Conyers and Nadler Write to AG Gonzales: May 17th, 2007 by Jesse Lee

Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers and Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Subcommittee Chairman Jerrold Nadler sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales urgently requesting answers to specific questions as well as greater access to information on the NSA’s domestic wiretapping program, in light of new revelations from Deputy Attorney General James Comey’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Comey described, in great detail, former White House Counsel Gonzales’ attempt to override Justice Department recommendations not to re-certify the program.

The letter asks for responses to the following questions:

1) Is Mr. Comey’s testimony about the events of March, 2004 as provided this week to the Senate Judiciary Committee (a copy of which is enclosed with this letter) accurate and, if not, please explain your version of what happened; 2) Was the classified program referred to by Mr. Comey the Terrorist Surveillance Program, as it existed prior to the changes made according to the Justice Department’s recommendations and, if not, what was the classified program that Mr. Comey was referring to? 3) Who was involved in deciding to seek approval from Attorney General Ashcroft from his hospital bed and who made the telephone call to arrange your visit to his bedside; 4) What was the basis for the Administration’s decision on March 10-11 to continue with the program despite the Department’s objections, how long did it so continue. Please provide copies of any legal or other memoranda on the subject; 5) What was the basis for the Department’s objections to the program. Please provide copies of any Office of Legal Counsel or other documents relating to those objections; and 6) What changes were made to the program to resolve the Department’s objections?

Chairman Conyers said of the letter:

“Mr. Comey’s testimony raises serious questions about the NSA program and the White House’s heavy-handed determination to continue it. This Committee’s oversight authority extends to the legality of the program and we refuse to take the Department’s stonewalling lightly. While it seems that attempts to ignore Congressional authority have become all too familiar at the Department, the days of the Administration’s ‘oversight free’ reign are over. We will demand accountability from Mr. Gonzales and the Administration.”

Iraq Is On The Verge Of Collapse

While Bush continues to live in Disney and have delusions of grandeur, the reality of Iraq is its not working. Here’s a report that Bush won’t acknowledge.

BAGHDAD, May 17 (Reuters) – Iraq’s government has lost control of vast areas to powerful local factions and the country is on the verge of collapse and fragmentation, a leading British think-tank said on Thursday.

Chatham House also said there was not one civil war in Iraq, but “several civil wars” between rival communities, and accused Iraq’s main neighbours — Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey — of having reasons “for seeing the instability there continue”. “It can be argued that Iraq is on the verge of being a failed state which faces the distinct possibility of collapse and fragmentation,” it said in a report. “The Iraqi government is not able to exert authority evenly or effectively over the country. Across huge swathes of territory, it is largely irrelevant in terms of ordering social, economic and political life.” The report also said that a U.S.-backed security crackdown in Baghdad launched in February has failed to reduce overall violence across the country, as insurgent groups have just shifted their activities outside the capital.

While Bush and the GOP want to continue the wait and see game, others have come to the realization that the surge is a failure and so is Iraq. It’s unfortunate that we will continue to send troops to Iraq to participate in an unjust war because of one stubborn and incompetent man.

 

Hagel Calls For Gonzales Resignation

Gonzales and Card’s hospital visit to Ashcroft to pressure him in reauthorizing wiretapping just might be the final nail in the Gonzales coffin.

Sen. Chuck Hagel on Wednesday became the latest Republican to call for Alberto Gonzales’ resignation, saying revelations about a sick bed visit to his predecessor have undermined his moral authority to lead the Justice Department.

Citing dramatic testimony a day earlier that revealed that Gonzales, then the White House legal counsel, tried to undermine the department he now leads, Hagel demanded the attorney general’s resignation.

“The American people deserve an attorney general, the chief law enforcement officer of our country, whose honesty and capability are beyond question,” Hagel, R-Neb., said in a statement. “Attorney General Gonzales can no longer meet this standard. He has failed this country. He has lost the moral authority to lead.”

Hagel’s harsh words came in response to testimony Tuesday by James Comey, deputy to Gonzales’ predecessor, John Ashcroft. Comey said that Gonzales pressured an ailing Ashcroft to approve the legality of President Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program. Ashcroft critically ill with pancreatitis at the time rebuffed Gonzales, Comey recalled.

Memos Suggested DOJ Fire 26 U.S. Attorneys

Gonzales bag of lies just seems to be getting bigger as the months roll by.  I find it very odd that Gonzales would not know about 26 attorney on the list. If that’s true, then who was running the DoJ Sampson or Gonzales?

Unreleased government records obtained by the Washington Post show that the Justice Dept. listed 26 U.S. attorneys as candidates for firing, including nine who were fired in 2006. The roster of prosecutors is much longer than previously acknowledged.

Here is the information contained in the records (names with *** are names fired in 2006; names with ** are names of U.S. attorneys fired in 2005; names with * are U.S. attorneys who have resigned):

Feb. 24, 2005

Thirteen U.S. attorneys recommended for removal by D. Kyle Sampson, then the attorney general’s chief of staff, who sends the list to the White House in March. See Full List.

It’s time for Gonzales to go and the Department of Justice to be overhauled.