US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned yesterday, ending
a controversial tenure as chief US law enforcement officer that
blemished the administration of President George W. Bush.
Gonzales announced at the Justice Department that his
resignation would take effect on September 17. He refused to take
questions from reporters and gave no reason for his sudden decision
to depart after months of controversy.
"I have lived the American dream," said Gonzales, a son of
migrant workers who began working for Bush when the president was
still the governor of Texas.
"Even my worst days as attorney-general have been better than my
father's best days," he said.
Bush, before leaving Texas to attend Republican fund-raisers,
called Gonzales a man of integrity, decency and principle, and said
he had reluctantly accepted the resignation, which came "after
months of unfair treatment that has created a harmful distraction
at the Justice Department."
"It's sad that we live in a time when a talented and honorable
person like Alberto Gonzales is impeded from doing important work
because his good name was dragged through the mud for political
reasons," he added.
US Solicitor General Paul Clement will serve as acting attorney
general, a senior administration official said, amid speculation
that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff could be a
candidate for a permanent replacement.
A 52-year-old Bush loyalist, Gonzales was at the center of a
political firestorm over the sacking of federal prosecutors last
year, which critics in Congress said were politically motivated. He
faced a possible perjury investigation for his testimony before
Congress.
Gonzales spoke to Bush by telephone on Friday and then visited
him on Sunday at his Crawford ranch, where he formally submitted
his letter of resignation, said another senior administration
official.
Reaction from Democrats was swift.
Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, chairman of the Senate
Judiciary Committee, blamed Gonzales and Bush for "a severe crisis
of leadership" at the Justice Department.
"I hope the attorney-general's decision will be a step toward
getting to the truth about the level of political influence this
White House wields over the Department of Justice and toward
reconstituting its leadership," he said in a statement.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said: "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."
Gonzales is the latest member of Bush's inner circle to leave
the White House as the administration heads toward the final year
of its two-term reign. Top Bush adviser Karl Rove departed last
week, following former communications director Dan Bartlett earlier
this year.
Son of Hispanic immigrant
Gonzales worked for Bush when he was governor of Texas in the
1990s. He served as White House lawyer in Bush's first term as
president before becoming the first Hispanic attorney general in
February 2005.
Current and former administration officials had said the
department's integrity had been damaged under Gonzales with
controversy over the firing of the prosecutors, his support for
Bush's warrantless domestic spying program adopted after the
September 11 attacks and other issues.
Before becoming the chief US law enforcement official, Gonzales
drew fire from critics of US interrogation policy for writing in
January 2002 that parts of the Geneva Convention on the treatment
of prisoners of war were "obsolete" and some provisions
"quaint."
(China Daily via agencies August 28, 2007)
