New Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales has urged Congress to renew the controversial USA Patriot Act, has jumped into the fierce partisan battle over judicial nominations and has rejected Democratic demands to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of torture against U.S. detainees.
These and other positions are not much different from those taken by Gonzales's sharp-tongued predecessor, John D. Ashcroft. Yet three months into the job, and despite a contentious confirmation battle in the Senate, the accolades for Gonzales are flowing in.
Lawmakers, including some Democrats who voted against his appointment, are praising his openness and mild-mannered demeanor. U.S. attorneys and career Justice Department employees say they welcome his open-door management style. And outside critics say they are merely grateful that Gonzales has agreed to hear them out.
Earlier this month, Gonzales invited leaders of the American Library Association to discuss the group's objections to a provision in the Patriot Act that allows the FBI to secretly seize library records. Ashcroft, by contrast, labeled librarians "hysterics" for raising such concerns.
"The simple difference is that he is at least willing to sit down and talk with us," said Carol Brey-Casiano, the group's president. "We did not have that opportunity with his predecessor. . . . I'm cautiously optimistic at this point."
Gonzales, in a brief interview Friday in an ornate conference room on the Justice Department's seventh floor, said he is only acting like himself. His experience as a former Texas Supreme Court judge has influenced the way he approaches issues, he said. "I like to listen. . . . I don't have a problem sitting down and listening to people and hearing their point of view."
"I can't speak to how John did his job in terms of style or tone," he added, "but I think he was very effective." Ashcroft, who has launched a new Washington consulting firm, declined through a spokeswoman to comment for this article.
The stark differences in style between the two attorneys general has smoothed Gonzales's transition from White House counsel to the nation's chief law enforcement officer, even as he implements few changes in his predecessor's policies.
On the Patriot Act, Gonzales has agreed to minor technical modifications to the law and has repeatedly said he is open "to engage in dialogue," as he put it in his interview. But he has not endorsed any substantive limitations to the 2001 law that gave law enforcement agents more far-reaching powers against terrorism. He is pushing for expansion of the law in other areas.
Gonzales also is moving ahead with significant changes at Justice, including a likely reorganization of national security-related divisions in coming weeks. He has named several new nominees for senior Justice positions, drawing them primarily from an influential clique of conservative lawyers, and has surrounded himself with advisers from his days at the White House.
Gonzales also has signaled his intent to increase the department's emphasis on criminal justice issues such as gang violence and human trafficking that have been overshadowed in recent years by the domestic focus on terrorism. He formed a task force to focus on prosecuting obscenity cases, attracting praise from religious conservatives, who have been lukewarm to Gonzales because of some of his Texas judicial rulings related to abortion.
The attorney general said that although combating terrorism will remain the department's first priority, "that doesn't mean that we can ignore these issues."
