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October 11, 2008 4:11:35 AM CDT

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Ex-Justice No. 2 Tells of Attempt to Strong-Arm Ashcroft

Posted May 15, 07 5:15 PM CDT in Politics,  US 

(Newser) – The Senate investigation of Alberto Gonzales took a turn toward high drama today as a former deputy AG described his hospital-room standoff with White House officials attempting to secure the signature of his critically ill boss. James Comey, then No. 2 at Justice—and, with John Ashcroft incapacitated, the acting AG—was with Ashcroft when Gonzales and Andrew Card appeared.

Senators indicated the reason for the visit was the NSA's domestic surveillance program. Authorization was to expire in March 2004, when then–White House counsel Gonzales and then-chief of staff Card paid a late-night call on Ashcroft. "I was very upset," Comey testified. "I thought I had just witnessed an effort to take advantage of a very sick man."

Source New York Times

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Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 15, 2007, before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing regarding the fired prosecutors. (AP Photo/Susan...   (Associated Press)
Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 15, 2007, before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing regarding the fired prosecutors. (AP Photo/Susan...   (Associated Press)
Former Deputy Attorney general Jim Comey, right, accompanied by then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, left, gestures during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington in this Aug. 1, 2002...   (Associated Press)
Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey waits to testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 15, 2007, before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing regarding the fired prosecutors. (AP Photo/Susan...   (Associated Press)
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George W. Bush  • Senate  • Alberto Gonzales  • investigation  • John Ashcroft  • NSA  • James Comey  • Andrew Card


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