House Panel Schedules Contempt Vote

Ex-AG compares torture to speeding (really)

(NEWSER) - Alberto Gonzales did not mean to endorse Eric Holder’s probe of alleged CIA torture during the Bush administration by calling it “legitimate,” the former AG tells the Washington Times, which broke the story. “I don't support the investigation by the department because this is a matter that has already been reviewed thoroughly,” he says. “Another investigation is going to harm our intelligence gathering capabilities.” More»

(NEWSER) - The House Judiciary Committee released documents today that Democrats say put Karl Rove and former Bush counsel Harriet Miers at the center of the US attorney firing scandal, Politico reports. “Karl Rove and his cohorts at the Bush White House were the driving force behind several of these firings,” says panel chief John Conyers. In particular, Rove and his staffers sought to oust the US attorney in New Mexico because he failed to prosecute corruption cases against Democrats—and thus help a Republican congresswoman in a tight race, reports the Washington Post. More»

(NEWSER) - Two years after leaving the Justice Department in disgrace, Alberto Gonzales is still trying to get back on his feet. In an interview with New York Times Magazine's grand inquisitor Deborah Solomon, the former AG says he's living in an apartment in Lubbock, Texas, where he'll begin a teaching gig this month that will give students "a behind-the-scenes look at how the White House is really organized." Solomon questions him about the 70 Texas Tech professors protesting his "ethical failings," to which Gonzales responds: "It's an ongoing investigation. I cannot comment." More»

Nevada prosecutor to get old job back

(NEWSER) - A US attorney fired by the Bush administration is set to get his old job back, the Washington Post reports. Daniel Bolger, whose 2006 firing is among those being probed for partisan motivation, has been nominated by President Obama to again be the federal prosecutor for Nevada. Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, when grilled by the Senate Judiciary Committee, was unable to recall the reason for Bolger's firing. More»

(NEWSER) - Karl Rove was intimately involved in the firing of at least three of the US Attorneys sacked for purportedly political reasons during the Bush administration, emails obtained by the Washington Post show. One note mentions a senator who “asked that we remove the US Atty” and “couldn’t be more serious about this request.” Though Rove says, “I’m not even sure I was still there”—he was—the attorney was fired. More»