As we have stated before though, his resignation will not end the witch hunt the Democrats have been on with 300 investigation and hundreds of thousands of documents submitted to their investigative committees, none finding criminal actions, although we have seen some serious non criminal blunders along the way.
"Alberto Gonzales was never the right man for this job. He lacked independence, he lacked judgment, and he lacked the spine to say no to Karl Rove," said Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (R-Nev.), referring to the belief among many Democrats that political strategist Rove engineered the ouster of the U.S. attorneys to make room for appointees more loyal to Bush.
"This resignation is not the end of the story. Congress must get to the bottom of this mess and follow the facts where they lead, into the White House."
They will continue to waste as much time as they can on this, it helps them avoid the fact that they aren't getting anything done.
Captain's Quarters states:
In any case, it's far past time for Gonzales to go. No one did anything illegal in terminating the federal prosecutors, but Gonzales and his team made it into a royal botch-up anyway. Gonzales really should have resigned after telling people publicly that the attorneys had performance issues when their reviews showed that they had performed well. That set off a series of statements that Gonzales had to retract or clarify, including some in Senate testimony that made him appear as though he hardly had anything to do with running the Department of Justice.
The Wall Street Journal reports that a senior Justice Department Official has suggested that Paul Clements might be named as a temporary replacement until a permanent replacement has been found.
QandO suggests that the timing might afford Bush the opportunity for a recess appointment and although the reactions to another recess appointment would be amusing to watch, I do not think that is a good idea and would further aggravate tensions between the houses and the White House, although I doubt this resignation by Gonzales will stop the Democrats with hunts anyway, so I guess we will see what happens over the next week.
Of course the left is celebrating his resignation, but then its timing might be perfect as far as the administration is concerned. Can you say "recess appointment?"Mr. Bush has not yet chosen a replacement but will not leave the position open long, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the resignation had not yet been made public.
I certainly wouldn't put it past Bush to make such an appointment given the fact that Congress will make a circus out of any confirmation hearing. We'll see.
Financial Times tells us that the departure date for Gonzales will be September 17.
This from Politico:
The Gonzales decision was first reported on the Web site of The New York Times.
The White House said in a statement: "Our focus is on having a nominee confirmed by the U.S. Senate who will serve until the end of the Administration."
An administration official explained: An individual may serve in an acting capacity for 210 days. However, if there is a pending nominee, the 210 day "clock" starts again when a nominee is announced. The 210 day "clock" would restart again if the nominee is voted down. The clock stops when there's a nominee, and restarts with a new 210 days if the nomination is withdrawn or fails.
Michael Chertoff's name has been bandied about for the temporary position, but personally I don't see him as right for the job.
Related:
Gonzales Vindicated of Perjury.
There is a ton of reaction going on over at memeorandum, head over and see the firestorm of blogging this has created.
[Update] Debbie at Right Truth phrases it just right:
Alberto Gonzales steps down and the Democrats go wild! Why? Now they can get on to nipping at the heals of another Bush appointee, no other reason. Granted Gonzales was inept at speaking, at defending his own actions and the actions of the President. Having said that, he broke no laws. The Democrats picked at his carcass hoping to find something they could prosecute, but there was nothing to be found. Did I like Gonzales? No. Did I think he should stay in position? No. But not because he had done anything wrong, simply because he was a joke and an impediment to the President.
[Update] Clement will act as AG until the Senate confirms a permanent one. (Via Michelle Malkin)
More at NYT.
Tracked back by:
Gonzales is gone - reaction from Right Truth...
A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning. Bloggers Bid Their Dry-Eyed Farewells to Gonzo. from Buck Naked Politics...
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