In her first day of testimony before Congress, Monica Goodling presented the following points of major interest.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, and former Gonzales aid Kyle Sampson were all accused of lying to Congress under oath. McNulty was especially called on the carpet.
Goodling admitted that career – not political – hires at the Department of Justice under Gonzales were made on the basis of political affiliation in violation of federal law. By all accounts, this illegal practice was both pervasive and widespread.
Although it was not stated directly, Goodling certainly hinted that Gonzales attempted to tamper with her testimony during a meeting that occurred a week after Congress made clear its legal interest in Goodling as a witness and possible suspect in criminal acts at the DoJ. Such tampering would be a felony. Legal experts have already stated that if the facts of the meeting are true, and they have not been refuted by Gonzales as to the proceedings of the meeting, the test for tampering would very likely have been met under federal law. Gonzales maintains that he was simply trying to “comfort” Goodling during a trying time.
You can find good recaps of the day both at TPMMuckraker.com and at Slate.com. Congress has five more days to seek further answers from Goodling under its agreement with her. No stone should be left unturned. We are rotting from within.
Postscript: Will Goodling end up being Bush’s Monica?
24 May 2007
No comments:
Post a Comment