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Admiral to Testify Against Alberto Gonzales' Confirmation

By Jeralyn, Section Other Politics
Posted on Mon Jan 03, 2005 at 05:01:48 AM EST
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The New York Times today reports on Thursday's confirmation hearing for Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General. It confirms what we've been saying at TalkLeft since his nomination: The questioning will be tough, but he will be confirmed, and a record will start being made to block his ascension to the Supreme Court after his term as AG.

The article does break some new ground reporting on the witnesses who will testify against his confirmation. One witness will be retired Rear Adm. John D. Hutson:

Rear Adm. John D. Hutson, who served as the Navy's judge advocate general from 1997 to 2000 before he retired, has said that while Mr. Gonzales may have an inspiring personal story he was at the forefront of an effort to subject detainees to coercive practices that was on the wrong side of history and betrayed longstanding American principles.

Admiral Hutson is one of several military legal experts, all former generals or admirals, who will release a letter on Monday asserting that Mr. Gonzales's legal judgments might disqualify him for the post of attorney general. The letter to the Judiciary Committee said Mr. Gonzales's actions "fostered greater animosity toward the United States, undermined our intelligence gathering efforts, and added to the risks facing our troops serving around the world."

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) expects a lot of Democratic support for Gonazales:

Mr. Schumer said the threshold for winning confirmation to a president's cabinet was far lower than for lifetime nominations to the Supreme Court, which have produced intense battles.

"Generally, for an executive branch position the president gets the benefit of the doubt," he said. "The general feeling on the committee is that he has probably met that lowered threshold."

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) will be one of those grilling Gonzales. The Times recounts the main points of contention with his record:

  • His role in developing the administration's claim of authority to imprison indefinitely "unlawful enemy combatants," which could include United States citizens and would not be reviewable by the courts.
  • His role in supervising a legal task force that concluded that Mr. Bush was not bound either by an international treaty prohibiting torture or by federal law because he had the authority as commander in chief to approve any technique needed to protect the nation.
  • The Jan. 25, 2002, memorandum he wrote to the president saying the Geneva Conventions did not apply to the conflict in Afghanistan. He described the conventions as "quaint" because he said they required "that captured enemy be afforded such things as commissary privileges, scrip (i.e., advances of monthly pay), athletic uniforms and scientific instruments."

In addition,

Mr. Gonzales will also be questioned about his role in the tightly constructed definition of torture in an August 2002 Justice Department memorandum.

Whoa...that's not all. Gonzales needs to be questioned on his record as clemency advisor in death penalty cases to George W. Bush. Call your senators at (202) 224-3121. A switchboard operator will connect you directly with the Senate office you request. Leave a message with your name, stating that you are a constituent, and leave a request for your senator to question Gonzales about this.

Update: Law Prof Michael Froomkin at Discourse.Net is no happier with Schumer's response than we are. Read Digby too.

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    Admiral to Testify Against Alberto Gonzales' Confirmation | 15 comments (15 topical)
    Re: Admiral to Testify Against Alberto Gonzales' (none / 0) (#1)
    by scarshapedstar on Mon Jan 03, 2005 at 12:31:46 AM EST
    It's too bad torture isn't a "litmus test", huh. You only have to prove that you don't think women should have rights.

    Re: Admiral to Testify Against Alberto Gonzales' (none / 0) (#2)
    by Andreas on Mon Jan 03, 2005 at 01:13:34 AM EST
    Talkleft wrote: "The questioning will be tough, but he will be confirmed". That is probably true - as a result of the reckless opportunismus of the Democratic Party.

    Re: Admiral to Testify Against Alberto Gonzales' (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Jan 03, 2005 at 02:43:59 AM EST
    "AG" stands for "Albertu Ghraibzales".

    Re: Admiral to Testify Against Alberto Gonzales' (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Jan 03, 2005 at 06:01:03 AM EST
    Keep hope alive. It seems to me that this appointment should be fought tooth and nail. If we don't throw down the gauntlet on the author of the torture memos, when would we do it? our leaders will follow if there is enough public outcry.

    Re: Admiral to Testify Against Alberto Gonzales' (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Jan 03, 2005 at 02:35:14 PM EST
    RE: "our leaders will follow if there is enough public outcry." Puke. If there is enough public outcry "our leaders" will understand that there is a political benefit to being against torture? How quaint. The Democratic Party is worthless. ==================================

    Re: Admiral to Testify Against Alberto Gonzales' (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Jan 03, 2005 at 02:37:33 PM EST
    After the Bush admin. delayed his hearing for six months, because of hundreds of opposition speakers and opposition in the Senate, Negroponte was summarily confirmed as Ambassador to the U.N. on 13 Sep 01...not one opposition speaker allowed. Now that the reselection is over, we look forward to the next calumny by USPNAC to install this new Bush Effigy of Terror into the AG (Attorney-Greased...the 'attorney' part is a euphemism) position, being vacated by the Soon-to-Ascend John 9:11. They didn't win the election, and they are not a legal government. They have committed a long string of impeachable offenses. It isn't just Gonzales, who is just an Abu Gharaib photo pretending to be a human being. It's the whole gang. It's the Trifecta of Evil. --

    Re: Admiral to Testify Against Alberto Gonzales' (none / 0) (#7)
    by Ray Radlein on Mon Jan 03, 2005 at 05:52:06 PM EST
    Paul does make a good point there: Once the Senate gave a pass to John Negroponte, of all people, to be our Ambassador to the United Nations, they forfeited an awful lot of the moral initiative to object to any other supporter of torture being given an administration job.

    Re: Admiral to Testify Against Alberto Gonzales' (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Jan 03, 2005 at 07:34:15 PM EST
    Sen. Leahy basically praised the guy as a fine choice in varius respects months before any questioning began. Like "yeah, we will question him, yada yada yada ... but you know, all for show ..." So, I guess, nothing to serious going on ... going against supporters of torture memoranda etc. isn't really worth too much political capital. Sad times for the Democratic Party.

    Re: Admiral to Testify Against Alberto Gonzales' (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Jan 03, 2005 at 07:52:09 PM EST
    sometimes I am too subtle. That was sarcasm that our leaders will follow if they know the will of the electorate. Tend to agree with you about the Democratic party with a few notable exceptions. Kerry is not among my exceptions.

    Re: Admiral to Testify Against Alberto Gonzales' (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Jan 04, 2005 at 12:39:32 AM EST
    Surprising, ca, since it is certainly the case that the party will respond to public demand for action, even during a coup. Kerry was just elected president of the US, in any fair election. And I believe he is a fine person worthy of my vote, which he certainly got. People who are down on Dems apparently don't recall that Paul Wellstone is no longer walking around, Daschle was sent government anthrax and called a traitor for opposing some aspect of the Fascist makeover. Our representatives are under fire, and support, appeals for action, and solidarity are definitely in order. The alternative? What alternative. --

    Re: Admiral to Testify Against Alberto Gonzales' (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Jan 04, 2005 at 05:24:02 AM EST
    Clinton is the only republican I have ever voted to be president. Kerry looks like a democrat, but I am not sure. All the swagger of "I will hunt down and kill Osama" from Kerry made me wonder just what is going on in his head. Daschle, Leahy, Kucinich, Wellstone, Harkin, Dean - these are representative of the Democratic exceptions that I can embrace. Gore also probably makes the cut with me. Lieberman, Reid? Heck, I prefer McCain to them.

    Re: Admiral to Testify Against Alberto Gonzales' (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Jan 04, 2005 at 05:25:18 AM EST
    We are off topic. I am willing to wager that Gonzalez votes republican. The party of torture and mayhem. They are a little hard for me to put up with.

    Re: Admiral to Testify Against Alberto Gonzales' (none / 0) (#13)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Jan 04, 2005 at 09:05:07 AM EST
    Clinton is the only republican I have ever voted to be president. you meant democrat, right? we'll see how this confirmation hearing goes... i do not feel positive about it at this point.

    Re: Admiral to Testify Against Alberto Gonzales' (none / 0) (#15)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Jan 04, 2005 at 01:32:33 PM EST
    I agree with the poster who stated earlier that this nomination must be fought "tooth and nail." Our Senators should be leading this effort not hiding from it. I have called both of my Senators from New York (Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton) to express my outrage that they are not actively fighting the confirmation of Gonzales as Attorney General. (Political expediency=failure of courage/compare their support of the so-called war-powers resolutions re: the Iraq war: Senator Kerry's downfall--"I voted for . . . before I voted against"--too little, too late. If Gonzales gets his foot in the door as Attorney General, no matter what the "record" of the confirmation hearings, depending on the make up of the Senate down the road, he could become a Supreme; we can't relax into thinking that some future Senate body will somehow act more responsibly than this one is doing; it could actually become even worse, hard as that may be to imagine. Think: future elections, future presidents, future tight races; future election irregularities; future Supreme Court interventions; future in hock. (Did any of us who voted against Bush/Cheney in 2000 ever imagine that things would be this horrendous in 2004?) Please contact your Senators directly to express strong opposition to the nomination of Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General. (The petitions referred to in the other threads are not enough.)

    Re: Admiral to Testify Against Alberto Gonzales' (none / 0) (#16)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Jan 04, 2005 at 04:58:43 PM EST
    Finally! Several hours ago, People for the American Way have come out in opposition to the confirmation of Alberto Gonzales for Attorney General of the United States. The semantic nit-picking currently going on on Chris Matthews' program Hardball is sickening, as Ralph Neas, of PFAW is trying to point out to C. Boyden Gray (former Bush 41 White House legal counsel). Ralph Neas is not predicting the outcome: "It all depends on the hearings." Democrat ic and Republican Senators with a conscience (if you have any left): please take note. While it still does not look good for those in the minority to be able to defeat a Republican majority in these confirmation hearings, with some Republican defectors, it is possible. I believe that many liberal Democrats may fear who they might get if the AG is not to be Gonzales; nevertheless, they should not be compromising their own integrity, the integrity of our country, and our integrity out of fear. It should take greater courage to be in the U.S. Senate. Now they're talking about potential future Supreme Court justice nominees. . . . and Neas is talking in favor of filibustering hearings for such nominees as being "part of the process."

    Admiral to Testify Against Alberto Gonzales' Confirmation | 15 comments (15 topical)