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Bush Rebuffs GOP Pressure For Gonzales to Step Down
(Melina Mara/twp - Twp)
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The administration sent other signals that Gonzales will be around for a while. The White House announced that he will join two other Cabinet members in helping colleges review questions raised by the massacre at Virginia Tech. And the Justice Department scheduled a news conference Monday on identity theft.
"I can understand there are some people who still don't want to support the attorney general. That is their right," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino. "But he has done a fantastic job at the Department of Justice. He is our number one crime fighter. He has done so much to help keep this country safe from terrorists."
A few others jumped to Gonzales's defense. "Based on what I know, this doesn't appear to be a situation where there's anything unlawful or improper," said Helgi C. Walker, a former aide. "I'm afraid it's just motivated by personal feelings, which is too bad because he's a great man who has accomplished a great deal."
Cornyn, who on Thursday called the handling of the U.S. attorneys matter "deplorable," warned fellow Republicans yesterday that removing Gonzales would only encourage Bush opponents. "This is, at its base, a political fishing expedition, and they're not going to be satisfied with just Al Gonzales," he told CNN.
Other Republicans on the Judiciary Committee, however, refused to defend Gonzales. Specter, the panel's senior Republican, sent Bush a private letter yesterday containing his advice on what to do. Specter's office declined to describe the recommendation, but the senator was highly critical at Thursday's hearing.
Another Republican, Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.), released a statement saying: "Although [Gonzales's] answers suggested that there were serious managerial issues at the Department of Justice, I did not see a factual basis to call for his resignation. As for whether the attorney general should resign, that is a question I leave to him and to the president."
Bud Cummins, the former U.S. attorney in Little Rock, said he found the testimony unsatisfying. "I'm not sure that the attorney general really understands what has happened, and here he's had 90 days to think about it, investigate it and consider the ramifications," Cummins said. "I think a more candid explanation would have served him and the president better."
Staff writer John Solomon and washingtonpost.com staff writer Paul Kane contributed to this report.
