Identity Theft? Gonzales Might Know Something About That

By Dana Milbank
Tuesday, April 24, 2007

It was altogether fitting and proper that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales gave a news conference about "combating identity theft" yesterday. His identity as a respectable public servant has been stolen by Republican senators and late-night comics, and -- to the dismay of the former and the delight of the latter -- "Fredo" is fighting to rebuild his good name.

"Mr. Attorney General," began the inevitable first question yesterday, from CNN's Kevin Bohn. "We haven't heard from you since your testimony on Thursday."

"Wasn't that enough?" Gonzales interjected with a smile.

Uh, not quite, General.

True, President Bush announced yesterday that Gonzales's shaky congressional testimony last week about the U.S. attorneys scandal had only "increased my confidence" in him. But Bush has previously bestowed his "full confidence" on Bernard Kerik, Jerry Bremer, John Ashcroft and George Tenet -- none of whom is now on the job.

What Gonzales may not realize is that his boss's confidence, even if it keeps him in office, won't do much to restore his lost identity. That has been taken from him by the likes of Arlen Specter, top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, who said on "Fox News Sunday" that Gonzales's testimony was "very, very damaging to his own credibility." He blamed Gonzales for a "very substantial decrease in morale" at the Justice Department.

His good name has also been stolen by anonymous Republican officials and tacticians, such as the one who told CNN that watching his testimony was like watching the "clubbing of a baby seal." And it has been stolen by the "Gonzo-Meter" on Slate.com and by Jay Leno, who remarked that when Gonzales swore to tell the truth, "everybody had a good laugh and went back to business."

This new status for the nation's top law enforcement official means he can expect the kind of gang tackle he got yesterday at the identity theft convention at the Federal Trade Commission. Seven television cameras were on hand for the otherwise unremarkable event, as were correspondents from four networks and various newspapers and wire services.

"It's nice to see such a good turnout," a spokeswoman from the FTC announced. "I think this'll be a good event." Gonzales and FTC chief Deborah Platt Majoras emerged four minutes later, spoke for 10 minutes and took questions for eight.

Gonzales smiled broadly as he approached the lectern. So determined was his show of good cheer that he continued smiling even as he proclaimed that identity theft is "a serious problem."

Majoras gave her own lengthy statement, but the cameras continued to click at Gonzales, who blinked rapidly and swallowed frequently. With lenses pointed at him from all directions, he fixed his stare on a distant corner of the room.

Bohn asked about Specter's view that Gonzales's testimony was "very, very damaging."

Gonzales declared the matter over. "I'm focused on making sure our kids are safe, making sure our neighborhoods are safe, making sure consumers are safe," he said.

Lara Jakes Jordan of the Associated Press got right to the point. "How long do you plan on staying?"

"I will stay as long as I feel I can be effective," Gonzales answered. He switched to the passive voice to reference "mistakes that have been made" but said he is moving on. "I can't just be focused on the U.S. attorney situation," he said. "I've also got to be focused on what's really important for the American people."

It was a textbook "move along, nothing to see here" response, but James Gordon Meek of the New York Daily News wouldn't heed that advice: "You've lost the confidence of a lot of the people on Capitol Hill. Virtually nobody has defended you; at the Department of Justice, morale, by all accounts, is plummeting."

The corners of Gonzales's lips quivered, and he shook his head in objection. "As long as I think that I can be effective, and the president believes that I should continue to be at the head of the Department of Justice, I'll continue serving as the attorney general," he said.

A questioner gave Gonzales a brief rest with a query about gun control, and a man from Privacy Times offered him a question about identity theft. "Good," Gonzales said. "Thank you."

But the reprieve was temporary. "Back to the Topic A," said CBS's Stephanie Lambidakis, who asked whether Gonzales could still be effective in a demoralized Justice Department. He said he has worked through it by "speaking directly to U.S. attorneys, by speaking directly to the component heads." He did not say how the "component heads" responded.

Gonzales's Q&A session was six minutes old. "We'll take one more question," announced Justice spokesman Brian Roehrkasse. The attorney general picked a questioner standing in a different part of the room, but the result was the same: a reporter from Congressional Quarterly asking him how he could do his job without cooperation from Congress.

"I have an obligation to work with Congress, and I will continue to work with Congress," he answered.

Meek, unable to resist a final tweak, asked Gonzales if he thought he was treated unfairly. This required him to atone for his sins for the fourth time in eight minutes: "I've already . . . indicated that I have made mistakes, and I accept responsibility for that."

Now can he have his good name back?