Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
« Back to the grid | Next story »

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

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • FBI Chief Refutes Gonzales

    Aug 17, 07 12:11 PM CDT
    FBI Chief Refutes Gonzales Newly released notes taken by the FBI director in 2004 contradict Alberto Gonzales' Senate testimony about the internal conflict over the warrantless wiretapping program. Robert Mueller's heavily redacted notes refer to hospitalized AG John Ashcroft as "feeble" and "barely articulate," the Washington Post reports—a far cry from Gonzales' claim that his predecessor was "lucid." More »

  • AG Refutes Account of Hospital Visit

    Jul 24, 07 4:08 PM CDT
    AG Refutes Account of Hospital Visit Alberto Gonzales today refuted an ex-colleague's dramatic testimony about a 2004 visit to John Ashcroft's hospital bed, but the Senate Judiciary Committee wasn't buying it. Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter were openly skeptical of the AG's account of the scene in John Ashcroft's room, and Specter raised the possibility of appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the US attorney firings. More »

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)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Gonzales Implicated In Another Scandal   (onedeaddj (YouTube))

View larger videos >>
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »

Threads (
1
 of 1)

Tags

George W. Bush • Senate • Alberto Gonzales • investigation • John Ashcroft • NSA • James Comey • Andrew Card


Loading...

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other US Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser a team of editors and writers culls the most important stories from hundreds of U.S. and international sources and reduces them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. It's the Newser guarantee: we can take any report or column or video and pack what you need to know into 120 words or less. Newser's short-form aggregation, visual format, and unique information tools help you get more of the kind of news you want, in a quicker and more entertaining way. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »