Pryor's Opinion Unchanged After Gonzales Meeting

Last updated Wednesday, April 25, 2007 7:19 PM CDT in News

By Aaron Sadler
The Morning News

    WASHINGTON -- Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., on Wednesday renewed his call for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to step down, unmoved by a personal meeting in which Gonzales sought to explain his handling of a U.S. attorney appointment in the state.

    "I told him point blank that I think it's in the best interest of the (Justice) Department and the administration that he resign," Pryor said after their 40-minute meeting in the senator's Capitol Hill office.

    Arkansas' junior senator in a Senate speech last month demanded the attorney general resign and accused him of lying in a Dec. 15 telephone conversation.

    Pryor said an e-mail written by the attorney general's former chief of staff Dec. 19 showed the Justice Department intended to bypass Senate confirmation for interim federal prosecutor Tim Griffin.

    On Wednesday, Gonzales denied lying and was unrepentant, Pryor said.

    "He didn't really offer an apology and nothing he said today really changed my mind on anything," he said.

    The two met as Gonzales tried to rebuild credibility damaged in the administration's botched firings of eight U.S. attorneys, including the ouster of H.E. "Bud" Cummins III in Little Rock.

    "I told him there are a lot of senators who think he should step down, Democrat and Republican," Pryor said. "He said his intention was not to step down. The president had confidence in him, and he plans to stay and work on mending some fences."

    Gonzales initiated the closed-door meeting at the request of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who said Pryor's anger over the issue was "out of character."

    Pryor claims the attorney general assured him on Dec. 15 that Griffin would be sent through the normal Senate confirmation process and that he and Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., should give Griffin a chance to succeed in his new job.

    The Dec. 19 e-mail by then-chief of staff Kyle Sampson laid out a plan to keep Griffin on as U.S. attorney indefinitely, stating "I think we should gum this to death: ask the Senators to give Tim a chance."

    Pryor said the e-mail reads like a "playbook" that Gonzales used in the earlier telephone conversation.

    The attorney general had a "hazy memory" of phone conversations with Pryor on Dec. 13 and Dec. 15, the senator said.

    Gonzales has said he rejected the plan to circumvent Senate confirmation with his interim appointment power.

    "It appears he was on board with the plan until somebody shined the light of day on it, then he rejected it," Pryor said.

    Gonzales took no questions Wednesday as he and his security detail scurried into Pryor's office past a cordoned-off area of about 30 reporters and photographers.

    The Justice Department did not comment on the meeting.

    Pryor and Gonzales met without anyone else in the room and went over specifics of the Dec. 19 e-mail, first released publicly by the Justice Department last month.

    Gonzales may not have been as forthcoming as possible because of ongoing investigations into the firings, Pryor said.

    "He has to be careful what he says, even with someone in private, about how much he talks about this," Pryor added. "My impression is he felt a little inhibited by the ongoing investigation."

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    Reader Comments (30 comment(s))


    The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsibility of their authors. The Morning News does not review comments before their publication, nor do we guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy. If you see a comment that violates our policy, please notify the web editor.

    Who Cares? wrote on Apr 25, 2007 8:38 PM:

    " Can't you people see that they only make a big deal out of issues like this to keep our focus off of the real problems? Illegal Aliens and mass illegal immigration should be everyone's focus right now. "

    I think that in the best interest of America wrote on Apr 25, 2007 8:55 PM:

    " that Senator Pryor should resign also. He doesn't seem to have anything better to do than to do waste all of our times doing the typical Democratic witchhunt. Could Gonzales have used better judgment with the words he chose, yes, but to have this witchhunt is why all of us need to have our beloved Senators held more accountable for their actions...or non-actions in most cases. "

    It is a big deal...... wrote on Apr 25, 2007 9:01 PM:

    " when the people running the justice department target political opponents, allow their buddies to circumvent not only the law but also the truth, and step-by-step trample the Bill of Rights. Good for Mark Pryor. Not everyone things the immigration is a problem, but those who do would be wise to want Mr. Gonzales gone. "

    Harry wrote on Apr 25, 2007 9:13 PM:

    " I agree with all posting. Gonzales needs to go but that is Bush's call not Pryor's. It is only a matter of time before he lives. Just politics at it's best. Now Pryor has handled the big issue of Gonzales, work on the illegals and leave the legals alone. "

    Harry wrote on Apr 25, 2007 9:14 PM:

    " leaves that is. "

    David wrote on Apr 25, 2007 10:40 PM:

    " Most of you don't understand WHY the US Attorney purge is so bad. The JUSTICE Dept. should NOT be politicized. Instead, it should pursue ACTUAL criminals, you know, ones who lie, steal, defraud, etc., not political opponents, or fake voter fraud issues. Unfortunately, most people think it's okay to let either political party use the JUSTICE Dept. as a political tool to silence critics and go after non-issues, like voter fraud or go after US attorneys who go after 'cronys" "

    I Care wrote on Apr 25, 2007 10:43 PM:

    " I don't want to see my country turned into a tin point dictatorship. I don't want the Presidente firing prosecutors who go after corrupt members of his own partido. I don't want the Presidente firing prosecutors who have the integrity not to file trumped up charges against members of the other party. "

    tin-pot . . . wrote on Apr 25, 2007 10:44 PM:

    " that is "

    Kevin wrote on Apr 25, 2007 10:47 PM:

    " In reply to the first two commenters, how would you like to have a democratic US Attorney threatening you with trumped up charges because somebody in the Administration doesn't like you or your politics? That's what this is about: using our Justice system to harrass innocent people, or excuse guilty people for political reasons. Just think about what that means. THINK! It's not a smoke screen to divert attention from illegal immigration. Bush and his corporate supporters FAVOR illegal immigration because it drives down wages. If they don't outsource your job, they import someone to do it cheaper. And then they get Rush Limbaugh to mislead you into reelecting them, even though it runs directly opposite to your own self-interest. Hello? When are you red staters going to wake up and smell the coffee? You've been flim-flammed so badly that you can't even see straight anymore. Are YOU better off under Bush than you were under Clinton? Is the country? They're robbing you blind and you're sitting there and cheering them on. "

    adam wrote on Apr 25, 2007 10:49 PM:

    " Illegal aliens? That IS the distraction they've been working lately. 2004 the distraction was gay marriage. The real problem is the politicization of every aspect of our government by the Bush White House. Gonzales is a disgrace to his office and a whipping boy for Bush. As long as Bush can keep hanging Gonzales out, twisting in the wind, he can keep the nation's attention from focusing on Rove and Cheney. His plan for this is the same as his plan for Iraq... stall, stall, stall and then end his term and leave the problem for the next President. Then work feverishly to try to sping together some sort of non-embarrassing legacy. "

    Rick wrote on Apr 25, 2007 11:00 PM:

    " I think some of the posters above are willfully blind to the manifest facts. Impeach Bush now. "

    serena1313 wrote on Apr 25, 2007 11:35 PM:

    " This is a big deal regardless of political affiliation. Stalling investigations based on partisanship, purging tens of thousands of eligible voters names from voting lists, targeting candidates on trumped up charges, installing inexperienced prosecutors, hiring federal employees based on their political affiliation, firing attorneys absent solid reason and smearing reputations are nefarious political tricks, possibly illegal, too. Politics have no place in law enforcement. It is not surprising the public's trust eroded. When loyalty to a man over the country and the Constitution is evident, every single American ought to be VERY alarmed. We are a democracy not a monarchy! "

    serena1313 wrote on Apr 25, 2007 11:45 PM:

    " PS. This is NOT a republican vs democratic issue; it is an AMERICAN issue. Let's drop the blue vs red, republican vs democrat rhetoric. Then it becomes clear the challenges we face together as one nation, as Americans. Otherwise divided we fall, united we stand. "

    visitor wrote on Apr 26, 2007 12:22 AM:

    " I think all people in Arkansas should be very wary of the way this appointment was handled. It seems to me that if this appointee was very special to "Rove" and Meiers, and was going to be pushed via no confirmation, I wonder if the object was to have an inside operative of Mr. Rove in Arkansas, seeing it is the former home of the Clintons and how it might be advantageous digging into past legal info just in case Mrs. Clinton happened to be the Democratic nominee. It has been stated If I remember correctly, wasn't digging up dirt one of Mr. Griffin's previous job descriptions for the RNC. "

    Eric wrote on Apr 26, 2007 12:28 AM:

    " When the remaining 30% finally see how badly they've been snookered, they're going to be confused, angry and sullen. Snookees, please take responsibility, be men, or women. Face your errors gracefully. We will all appreciate it. Its patriotic. "

    I agree wrote on Apr 26, 2007 12:31 AM:

    " these attourneys shouldn't be appointees. But that has been the case for a long long time. With that...those attourneys that were fired were not appointees by Bush and he let them stay on. For whatever reason, the administration has the right to fire them. If they were they were fired to stall criminal investigations of corruption then please lay out those facts. These fired men had a great track record of going after Repubs, but there wasn't so much of that effort to go after Dems. We can b, moan and groan all we want about whether or not firing them was the right thing to do morally, but the Prez does have the right to do it. I didn't hear all the whining when Clinton did basically the same thing, just more open about it. Some of you Bush haters seem to have decent reasons for your hate, while others just like to hate. "

    Cardinal Fang wrote on Apr 26, 2007 1:17 AM:

    " "I agree" above is wrong; the seven US Attorneys fired on December 7th were all appointed by Bush. They were Republican appointees. Gonzales claims that they were fired for cause, but he can't seem to remember what the cause is. If Bush wants to fire his own appointees because he doesn't like their hair color, that's fine, but if he fired them because they were prosecuting Republican officeholders and not prosecuting Democrats, that's obstruction of justice and it's illegal. "

    I can't wait til wrote on Apr 26, 2007 1:24 AM:

    " the Democrats take the White House and we start repressing Republican voters by removing their names from the polls, profiling stupid white guys and saying they need ID to vote, launching bogus federal investigations into Republican officials to damage their reputations and bleed their campaign chests, and cover up crimes by fellow Democrats. Gee, now that I think about it, the Republicans must be on to something. Can we arrest Republicans and hold them in prison without charging them with crimes, too? This is going to be fun ... Unless, of course, all the right wing commenters here would prefer that these things NOT happen to them, in which case they should be careful how much they back Gonzales. Because he's done all of these things since he's been in office, and payback is, well, the opposite of pleasurable. "

    HARRYSWRONG wrote on Apr 26, 2007 1:41 AM:

    " "Bush's Call" to fire/not fire Gonzalez? Since when have any of Bush's decisions proven to be sound, or in the best interest of the U.S.? I assume you are parroting the "Serves at the pleasure of the President" rule of law here, even though Bush, et al. have, ironically, violated one constitutional principle after another. Those of you who blindly back him will have a lot of explaining to do to your children and grandchildren when they start asking you why the government of this country is in such dire shape. You can encourage them during that same conversation to get "C"s in school, just like our fearless leader. WAKE UP! "

    liz wrote on Apr 26, 2007 5:02 AM:

    " To the first commenter on this site, this does affect US citizens immensely. I am one of them. I have been discriminated against in America by the Social Security Administration because I have a disability. Whoa you say... well, I have been sick all my life. I was on Social Security when I was in my twenties. I went back to work for eleven years. When I got sick again with my lifetime illness, the Judge chose to penalize me. He docked me time and money and then covered up his bad behavior. Point being.... the US Dept of Justice thinks this is ok. Do you? It is simply unAmerican to me. Gonzo and his band of cronies should go. This affects all Americans. "

    Marie wrote on Apr 26, 2007 6:58 AM:

    " Which is worse? An attorney general who makes a promise to a senator and due to poor memory can't keep his promises? Or an attorney general who makes a promise to a senator but never meant to keep it? And lied and said he didn't remember. Take your pick. One of them is alberto gonzales. Now, do you want such a guy as attorney general? "

    PHB wrote on Apr 26, 2007 7:50 AM:

    " Obstruction of justice IS a justice issue, and one that the Senate has a duty to investigate. Six of the dismissed USAs were investigating Republicans for corruption. Indeed there is only one USA who investigated a Republican who has not resigned. The remaining two USAs appear to have been sacked for not bringing trumped up charges against Democrats or in Iglesias's case not bringing an indictment at a politically advantageous time. That is called obstruction of justice. Gonzalez is not goin to investigate his own corruption, so Congress must. That is what the constitution says. Gonzalez is facing impeachment, he does not serve at the pleasure of the President alone, he serves at the pleasure of the President subject to impeachment by Congress. He may also face criminal prosecution. These investigations have been good for the Democrats and good for the country. The US does not need a corrupt attorney general blocking legitimate investigations of corrupt lawmakers. Renzi, DeLay, Ney, Cunningham, Abramoff, Lewis, Doolittle and their appologists will disagree. "

    John wrote on Apr 26, 2007 7:54 AM:

    " MENDACITY! MENDACITY! Tht other night I watched for the upmteenth time the movie Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. One of the most memorial moments is Burl Ives walking through the living room uttering the lines that the it was so heavy within the room that you could smell the mendacity. The more I read and hear about the Bush Administration I can just picture Burl Ives strolling through the White House uttering those same lines. Mendacity! You can just smell the mendacity. "

    Tracy wrote on Apr 26, 2007 8:05 AM:

    " I agree with what everyone above has said about the deeply disturbing way the Justice department is being used as an arm of a single political party. I just want to add that Pryor is very rightfully upset at being blatantly lied to. Here is the full text of the e-mail from Gonzales' chief of staff that he's talking about: "We should gum this to death. [A]sk the senators to give Tim a chance ... then we can tell them we’ll look for other candidates, ask them for recommendations, evaluate the recommendations, interview their candidates, and otherwise run out the clock. All of this should be done in 'good faith,' of course." You gotta love that "good faith" in ironic quotes. These people are terrible. How can anyone defend them? "

    Please............... wrote on Apr 26, 2007 8:48 AM:

    " If you care about how the justice dept. has been hijacked to become the political arm (hired gun?) of the republican party, then contact your representatives in the House and Senate and let them know. Prove to Bush and company that we do care. "

    erich wrote on Apr 26, 2007 9:17 AM:

    " As someone born under Hitler, I am grateful that most see the danger of politicizing the judiciary, the way Hitler came to power. I frankly don't care which party is in power, only that we do not fix the voting system in such a way that we have only ONE party, and make the wishes of non-political citizens irrelevant. THAT is precisely what it appears this administration has been doing. To those who do not have the time or contacts outside of the MSM, we have just scratched the surface of corruption and election fixing. "

    Folks wrote on Apr 26, 2007 9:30 AM:

    " One is just as bad as the other folks. Party means nothing. Politicians don't always get where they are or stay there becasue they do the right thing for us "We the People". Today only the rich are in office or those that can rasie the most money. Not sure where this country is heading but never count on politicains to make it right or better. "

    Politicians wrote on Apr 26, 2007 9:42 AM:

    " Should not be running the Justice Department. Even if all you can do is contact your Senators and representative in the House, then do it! Gonzales obviously does not have the memory to be in charge. Surprised he can remember his own name. the more peopel who actually do something by contacting Washington representatives, the more likely something will be done. "

    sponson wrote on Apr 26, 2007 11:24 AM:

    " "I Agree" above: These fired attorneys absolutely were Bush appointees, every single one of them. Get your facts straight. "

    to "I agree" wrote on Apr 26, 2007 11:51 AM:

    " maybe they were not going after the democrats because the democrats were abiding by the law of the land. The fine lady in Minnesota recently released from confinement by an appeals court is a prime example. And learn to spell. there is no "u" in attorney. "


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