Gonzo has become the joke of SJC hearings..
From the Carpetbagger Report:
I know it’s serious, and I realize the gravity of the problem, but listening to the Senate Judiciary Committee grill Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has been laugh-out-loud hilarious. Indeed, it’s not unusual for assembled spectators to chuckle if a witness and senator are joking around, but in this morning’s session, the audience was laughing at Gonzales’ responses because they were so transparently ridiculous.
There’s plenty to write about, but there was one four-minute exchange between Gonzales and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) that was significant for a variety of reasons, some funnier than others. From the first half of the exchange:
SPECTER: Let me move quickly through a series of questions there’s a lot to cover. Starting with the issue Mr. Comey raises, you said “there has not been any disagreement about the program.” Mr. Comey’s testimony was that “Mrs. Gonzales began to discuss why they were there to seek approval” and he then says “I was very upset, I was angry, I thought I had just witnessed an effort to take advantage of a very sick man.”
GONZALES: The disagreement that occurred was about other intelligence activities and the reason for the visit to the hospital was about other intelligence activities. It was not about the terrorist surveillance program that the president announced to the American people.
SPECTER: Mr. Attorney General, do you expect us to believe that?
They shouldn’t. Last year, Gonzales told the Senate Judiciary Committee there was no disagreement about the program. Then Comey said there was a lot of disagreement about the program. A month ago, Gonzales said he and Comey were referring to the same program. This morning, Gonzales said he and Comey were referring to different programs.
Gonzales has been an embarrassment to himself for quite a while, but this morning was a new low. Either he was confirming the existence of a secret surveillance program today, in which case he was lying last month, or he was lying today and telling the truth last month.
Specter also added:
"Now we've been exploring some alternatives," Specter said, noting that "the attorney general has the authority to appoint a special prosecutor." He told Gonzales, "You're recused, but somebody else could do it."
For those at home, it's airing on C-Span3 and streaming on the Senate Judiciary Committee's website.
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