[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9565]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




GONZALES REFUSED TO ANSWER CRITICAL QUESTIONS IN THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
                                SCANDAL

  (Mr. PALLONE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, Attorney General Gonzales cancelled a 
vacation and an entire week of work so he could prepare for his 
testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday on the 
expanding U.S. Attorney scandal, but it does not seem to have helped 
him very much.
  Despite all that prep time, the Attorney General could still not 
remember why most of the prosecutors had been fired by him in the first 
place. Worse yet, Gonzales said he could not recall attending a meeting 
where the discussion of the fate of these prosecutors was debated.
  Democratic and Republican senators alike grew increasingly frustrated 
throughout the day as the Attorney General answered ``I do not recall'' 
to more than 70 questions. It was so bad that conservative Republican 
Senator Jeff Sessions said that he was concerned about Gonzales' 
recollection, considering that these events only took place last 
December.
  Either the Attorney General is deceiving the Senate about what he 
remembers or he is so lacking that he can sit through discussions about 
the potential firing of eight U.S. Attorneys and simply not remember 
being there. Neither bodes well for Gonzales. It's time the President 
sets aside his friendship and asks his Attorney General to step aside.

                          ____________________