How bad does the Great Prosecutor Purge have to be for the Bush Administration for this to happen?
The controversy swirling around Attorney General Alberto Gonzales over the firing of eight U.S. attorneys intensified Tuesday, with Senate Republicans offering only a qualified defense in the face of calls by some Democrats that he resign.
Even Texas Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison — typically full-throated defenders of the Bush administration — expressed concern that Gonzales and the Justice Department had mishandled explanations to Congress about the White House’s involvement in the prosecutors’ firing last December.
“Appearances are troubling,” Cornyn said. “I think the executive branch owes it to Congress to be forthcoming when Congress asks for information, and this has not been handled well.”
I’m trying to think of a suitable analogy for this – Bill “Cowboy” Lamza criticizing the Dallas Cowboys? Earl Dittman writing a negative review about a movie? Kevin Whited praising a pro-METRO editorial in the Chronicle? – but nothing quite fits. If having Cornyn and Hutchison turn on him isn’t enough to push Alberto Gonzales out of the Attorney General’s office, it’s hard to imagine what would do it.
Interesting.
I called Cornyn’s office yesterday late in an attempt to elicit this sort of response. Three different people would offer no more than the now standard “ongoing investigation” non-comment.
Incidentally, Cornyn is on both Ethics and Judiciary, but has been very much the invisible man so far.
Gee, could Cornyn be trying to crawl back to at least within sight of the middle ground before next year’s election?