Readers will already be aware from news coverage that US Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales’s testimony at the Senate didn’t go so well earlier this week (here’s the NY Times coverage if you want it; since then, Democrat Senators have issued a subpoena to Karl Rove and recommended that Gonzales be investigated for perjury).
But most of the coverage didn’t do justice to the sheer awfulness of it, according to Hilzoy at Obsidian Wings, who reproduces the following list of highlights from the Washington Post’s coverage. It’s really funny, and really, really bad.
Consider some of the invective directed at the attorney general as he sat hunched and grim at the witness table:”The department is dysfunctional. . . . Every week a new issue arises. . . . That is just decimating, Mr. Attorney General. . . . The list goes on and on. . . . Is your department functioning? . . . What credibility is left for you? . . . Do you expect us to believe that? . . . Your credibility has been breached to the point of being actionable.”
And that was just from the top Republican on the committee, Arlen Specter (Pa.). Democrats had to scramble to keep up with the ranking member’s contempt.
“I don’t trust you,” announced Chairman Pat Leahy (D-Vt.), who paused, while swearing in the witness, to emphasize “nothing but the truth” — as if lecturing a child.
“You just constantly change the story, seemingly to fit your needs to wiggle out of being caught,” added Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
“You, sir, are in fact the problem,” submitted Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) (…)
As he fielded complaints yesterday, Gonzales had no briefing book before him; this made sense, because he had no answers for the senators’ questions.
Leahy asked if Gonzales would block prosecutors from prosecuting contempt-of-Congress cases. “I’m not going to answer that question,” the witness answered.
“Do you think constitutional government in the United States can survive if the president has the unilateral authority to reject congressional inquiries?” Specter pressed.
“I’m not going to answer this question.”
Specter pronounced the situation “hopeless” and moved on to another question.
“I’m not going to answer that question,” Gonzales said anew.
“How about the death penalty case?” Specter pursued.
“I have no specific recollection as to this particular case,” the attorney general said. Whitehouse threw his reading glasses to the table and smacked his palm to his forehead.”
It was like that for three hours.
