Senator Leahy certainly had a huge vein in his forehead in Gonzo's ridiculous, weak, and Alice in Wonderland testimony at Thursday's Senate committee hearings. We appreciate all you do for the public. Cheers!
Truthdig tips its hat this week to Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who proved to be one of the most forceful, and appropriately relentless, interrogators of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales during his grilling (or perhaps broiling is a better word) by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
The imperiled attorney general’s exchange with committee Chairman Leahy intensified when the subject shifted from Gonzales’ role in the dismissal of eight federal attorneys to the Justice Department’s actions in the case of Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen who was, and apparently still is, on a terrorist watch list in the United States. Arar was detained at JFK Airport on his way home to Canada in 2002, and, instead of being turned over to his own government for investigation, he was deported to Syria. According to Leahy, Arar was then held—and tortured—for 10 months in Syria.
The Canadian government has taken steps to make amends to Arar (Leahy notes that the head of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police resigned over the case), but there has been no similar gesture in the Bush administration. Watch the clip below to see the full exchange, in which Leahy rips into Gonzales as the attorney general contends he must put off the issue until a later date because he is not “at liberty” to discuss Arar in front of the committee. Clearly, being in the hot seat with Leahy staring you down is not an enviable position.
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