I say, screw the confirmation hearings, make do with Richard Addington or whoever else Cheney has chained up down in his dungeon.

Or maybe... Fred Fielding? Can Bush claim attorney client privilege?

We. Are. Going. To. Die. We must restore hope in the world. We must bring forth a new way of living that can sustain the world. Or else it is not just us who will die but everyone. What have we got to lose? Go forth and Fight!—Xan

Times:

"The unfair treatment that he's been on the receiving end of has been a distraction for the department," the official said.

Fucking whiners.

And what's with these Monday resignations? Is the idea that they hand them in Friday so Bush has time to tie one on and then dry out again? Or do they have some new theory of the news cycle to replace the 5:00 Horror?

Interestingly, nothing on Drudge at all (8:28AM).

We. Are. Going. To. Die. We must restore hope in the world. We must bring forth a new way of living that can sustain the world. Or else it is not just us who will die but everyone. What have we got to lose? Go forth and Fight!—Xan

Via Reuters, quoting the Times. Looks like Times man Steven Lee Myers has a scoop.

We. Are. Going. To. Die. We must restore hope in the world. We must bring forth a new way of living that can sustain the world. Or else it is not just us who will die but everyone. What have we got to lose? Go forth and Fight!—Xan

CNN:

"For the previous six months, the Justice Department has been virtually nonfunctional and desperately needs new leadership," said the Schumer statement. "Democrats will not obstruct or impede a nominee who we are confident will put the rule of law above political considerations. We beseech the Administration to work with us to nominate someone whom Democrats can support and America can be proud of."

Yeah, and monkeys might fly out of my butt.

Hmmn, Schumer's from New York, just like Myers...

We. Are. Going. To. Die. We must restore hope in the world. We must bring forth a new way of living that can sustain the world. Or else it is not just us who will die but everyone. What have we got to lose? Go forth and Fight!—Xan

who cares who is "working" in bush's "administration?" seriously- doesn't so much of it feel like a mummer's show at this point? the post i just put up on the CA energy fraud/crisis is case in point. it's not really "government" when the people with the power of office ignore law, court orders, the will of the people. the people behind the scenes stealing billions from the treasury have abdicated even trying to look like real government, for some time now.

abu G leaving means little, unless he is prosecuted and sent to jail for his crimes. although, watching the confirmation hearings for the replacement should be amusing, in a sad way. i predict much mushiness from the dems.

I'm going back in my cage, now.

Hey, Clinton put Cohen, a Republican, in charge of DOD.

So, I'm sure turnabout will be fair play, and Bush will be entirely willing to put an above-the-fray, non-partisan Democrat--say, Joe Lieberman--at the helm of the department...

We. Are. Going. To. Die. We must restore hope in the world. We must bring forth a new way of living that can sustain the world. Or else it is not just us who will die but everyone. What have we got to lose? Go forth and Fight!—Xan

WaPo replaces the Reuters story at 8:40AM with AP:

A senior Justice Department official said that a likely temporary replacement for Gonzales is Solicitor General Paul Clement, who would take over until a permanent replacement is found.

Presumably, since Clement is hasn't resigned on principle, he's a loyal Bushie. So little will change. For example, is Clement pro-torture? Via Newsday:

"Suppose the executive says, 'Mild torture we think will help get this information.' ... Some systems do that to get information," Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg asked at the April hearing.

"Well, our executive doesn't," insisted the government's lawyer, Paul Clement. He also assured justices that the United States would stand by its international commitments that prohibit torture.

"Our executive doesn't..." Uh-huh.

We. Are. Going. To. Die. We must restore hope in the world. We must bring forth a new way of living that can sustain the world. Or else it is not just us who will die but everyone. What have we got to lose? Go forth and Fight!—Xan

John Edwards.

Crashcart is never going to give up his most consistent vote in a split Senate after all. But if they really are as afraid of Edwards as they seem to be...

As ChiDy points out, if they have the underlings in place doing their evil work, and don't really give a fuck about obeying the law in the first place, what does the guy at the top matter? They get instant acclamation for "bipartisanship" and "truly reaching out to purify a broken department" and similar horseshit, and Johnny is just stuck there with his balls in a jar on Cheney's mantelpiece.

I can just see the guys in the Guinness commercial yelling "BRILLIANT!"

Man-dog Rickie's the perfect choice.
He's 'clean,' untouched by scandal.
He's a super-loyal Bushevik.
He's a former Senator, so confirmation's not a problem.
And he's unemployed.

When he woke up today, he planned to resign.

At 10:30AM, will he still remember that?

at one point in his storied career as a republican crony.

The New York Times reports Alberto Gonzales will announce his resignation later this morning:

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, whose tenure has been marred by controversy and accusations of perjury before Congress, has resigned. A senior administration official said he would announce the decision later this morning in Washington.

Mr. Gonzales, who had rebuffed calls for his resignation, submitted his to President Bush by telephone on Friday, the official said. His decision was not announced immediately announced, the official added, until after the president invited him and his wife to lunch at his ranch near here.

U.S. News reports, "The buzz among top Bushies is that beleaguered Attorney General Alberto Gonzales finally plans to depart and will be replaced by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff . Why Chertoff? Officials say he's got fans on Capitol Hill, is untouched by the Justice prosecutor scandal, and has more experience than Gonzales did, having served as a federal judge and assistant attorney general."

from think progress.

AP:

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has resigned, ending a months-long standoff with Republican and Democratic critics who called for his ouster over the Justice Department's botched handling of FBI terror investigations and the firing of U.S. attorneys, officials said Monday.

Jeebus, the Republicans get top billing even though they're in the minority? Arlen Spector is driving this?

OTOH, since the Democrats haven't exactly been on fire here, you can see why they would get second billing. I'm pleased that the man is gone, but he should have been forced to go, and not allowed to go.

We. Are. Going. To. Die. We must restore hope in the world. We must bring forth a new way of living that can sustain the world. Or else it is not just us who will die but everyone. What have we got to lose? Go forth and Fight!—Xan

As Glenn points out, we have the power, all on our own:

The standard excuse invoked by Democrats to justify their capitulations -- namely, that they cannot attract a filibuster-proof or veto-proof majority to defy the President -- will be unavailing here. They themselves can filibuster the confirmation of any proposed nominee to replace Gonzales. They do not need Blue Dogs or Bush Dogs or any of the other hideous cowards in their caucus who remain loyal to the most unpopular President in modern American history. The allegedly "Good Democracats" can accomplish this vital step all on their own. They only need 40 Senate votes to achieve it.

Bingo. (Via the essential Avedon.

We. Are. Going. To. Die. We must restore hope in the world. We must bring forth a new way of living that can sustain the world. Or else it is not just us who will die but everyone. What have we got to lose? Go forth and Fight!—Xan

AP:

"Better late than never," said Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, summing up the response of many in Washington.

We. Are. Going. To. Die. We must restore hope in the world. We must bring forth a new way of living that can sustain the world. Or else it is not just us who will die but everyone. What have we got to lose? Go forth and Fight!—Xan

AP:

There were indications that the development came suddenly. Bush normally handles Cabinet resignations with efficiency, only allowing news of them to leak when a successor has been chosen and appearing with both the person departing and the replacement when the public announcement was made. That was not to be the case this time, the official said.

The president had no candidates for Gonzales' replacement to his ranch over the weekend for interviews, the official said.

Hmmm.... Curious...

We. Are. Going. To. Die. We must restore hope in the world. We must bring forth a new way of living that can sustain the world. Or else it is not just us who will die but everyone. What have we got to lose? Go forth and Fight!—Xan

skeletor lurvs him some 'tim ossman'

Between the Fall of 1998 and June 2001, a group of Middle Eastern men living in New Jersey is caught on tape in an ATF weapons sting conspiring to buy millions of dollars of weapons including components for nuclear bombs. Three years after the operation ended, all of the people involved in the deal are free.

Federal agents who worked on the case were frustrated because it was handled as a criminal case instead of a counterterrorism case. In an in depth look at Operation Diamondback I reveal that one of the suspects who was accused of skimming millions of dollars from a fraudulent HMO to offshore accounts where the money allegedly went to finance terrorism, was defended in the HMO case by a lawyer who later became the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division, under John Ashcroft. The lawyer, Michael Chertoff, was in his position as Assistant Attorney General when Operation Diamondback ended and his client was never arrested even though an intelligence document claimed he and his brother in Egypt had links to Osama Bin Laden.

oh, please. let it be chertoff. the fun we could have.

Via TalkLeft:

"[EDWARDS] We shouldn't replace the person responsible for Guantanamo with the person responsible for the aftermath of Katrina."

Ouch!

We. Are. Going. To. Die. We must restore hope in the world. We must bring forth a new way of living that can sustain the world. Or else it is not just us who will die but everyone. What have we got to lose? Go forth and Fight!—Xan

Looks like that "leaving by Labor Day" think from Bolten is turning out to be a lot more true than we imagined....

GONZO: Spoke with Bush yesterday... [thought it was Friday?] ... Effective as of September 17, 2007....

And then... He doesn't take any questions! So much for the live coverage, eh? So, now we get to listen to the legal editor of TNR, who keeps calling the "warrantless surveillance program" the "terrorist surveillance program." Why not Greenwald, fer cryin' out loud?

Now, IGLESIAS: They didn't tell the truth behind the our firings. They should have said these are political people and we're firing them for political people.

IGLESIAS We were fired because we didn't file voter fraud indictments against Democrats when evidence didn't warrant it.

And the interviewer just stutters!! And sails right on.

And now the quotes! Blount (Republican) and McConnell (Republican, decrying "poisonous partisanship).

Interviewer: Orrin Hatch might be willing....

Interviewee: Hatch has spend all his capital defending Gonzo, so how could he restore credibility? Maybe Danforth, an Episcopal minister.

Note the September 17 date rules out a recess appointment, and therefore a confirmation process will be needed.

Interviewer: No suggestion Gonzo enriched himself...

Interviewee: "Couldn't prove it on him...." Surely the Dems were chomping at the bit to prove some allegation of wrong-doing. NO THEY WEREN'T!

We. Are. Going. To. Die. We must restore hope in the world. We must bring forth a new way of living that can sustain the world. Or else it is not just us who will die but everyone. What have we got to lose? Go forth and Fight!—Xan

'For the previous six months, the Justice Department has been virtually nonfunctional and desperately needs new leadership,' said the Schumer statement. 'Democrats will not obstruct or impede a nominee who we are confident will put the rule of law above political considerations. We beseech the Administration to work with us to nominate someone whom Democrats can support and America can be proud of.'

we will see if he means it.

and the moles and the Christianists that Bush has infested the government with. Now, somebody like Rahm or Chuck would be excellent for that.

But still, I'd prefer to even the scales, then go non-political, eh?

We. Are. Going. To. Die. We must restore hope in the world. We must bring forth a new way of living that can sustain the world. Or else it is not just us who will die but everyone. What have we got to lose? Go forth and Fight!—Xan

Who would focus prosecutorial efforts obsessivly on revoking the tax-exempt status of any "religious" organization that meddled in political endorsements?

And assign the remaining investigators to crack down on war profiteering, corporate malfeasance, antitrust/price fixing offenses, voter caging, failure to pay employees for time worked, failure to inspect goods sold for harmful materials, refusal to pay court-ordered fines for mine safety violations, and nasty bitter partisan stuff like that?

Hmm. I started this out as snark about just what "evening the scales" of doing unto these Regents University scholars what they've been doing unto us could possibly consist of. Now that I think about it, it would consist of "doing the people's business" by means of "enforcing the law." Dayum, what a radical concept!

Of course, by "evening the scales" I mean, scraping all the scales off the reptiles currently infesting the offices at Justice. That's what I meant. Painful, but necessary.

We. Are. Going. To. Die. We must restore hope in the world. We must bring forth a new way of living that can sustain the world. Or else it is not just us who will die but everyone. What have we got to lose? Go forth and Fight!—Xan

Odd, especially that there's nothing from Hillary. I mean, she's from New York, also Schumer's state, and Edwards not only has a quote, he was on CNN. Maybe Hillary's operation isn't quite the juggernaut we thought?

We. Are. Going. To. Die. We must restore hope in the world. We must bring forth a new way of living that can sustain the world. Or else it is not just us who will die but everyone. What have we got to lose? Go forth and Fight!—Xan

i'm sure there will be a carefully worded statement soon, filled with meaningless expressions of "disappointment" and "regret" and with milquetoast appeals for "civility" and "dignity" and bipartisan cooperation.

Saying Hillary's operation is not a juggernaut is giving her the benefit of the doubt?

NOTE Edwards first out of the gate with "It's about time." Excellent...

We. Are. Going. To. Die. We must restore hope in the world. We must bring forth a new way of living that can sustain the world. Or else it is not just us who will die but everyone. What have we got to lose? Go forth and Fight!—Xan

lambert,

you've mentioned old Rahm Emanuel as the guy for the job of cleaning up the muck a few times now - have you some inside information about his spinefulness that I missed?

Greenwald catches Rahm in a lie

Sirota questions Rahm's testicular fortitude

John Walsh accuses Rahm of rigging a pro-war Congress

TIME reminds us how Rahm publicly complained about how Dean, MoveOn, and Soros spent money in 2006

Just sayin'.

"A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

Great Minds.

To me, it will just amplify Cheney's already dangerous influence. I'm a wee bit scared, but no more so than the specter of AG Hatch, or AG Frothy Mixture, or AG Lieberman.

"A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

when it comes to HRC. did you know, for example, she's declared "war on cancer."

tell me that isn't a direct attempt to take back the "pink ribbon" vote from the edwards camp. cold, calculating, j-naut like.

she's waiting to see where the triangle shaped kite blows in the wind, that's why there is a delay.

And cleaning out the Republican operatives will take a thug.

We. Are. Going. To. Die. We must restore hope in the world. We must bring forth a new way of living that can sustain the world. Or else it is not just us who will die but everyone. What have we got to lose? Go forth and Fight!—Xan

"AG Frothy Mix..."

"Where the triangle shaped kite blows in the wind..."

Every so often I wonder whether we're really just, you know, too nice.

But then my confidence is restored.

We. Are. Going. To. Die. We must restore hope in the world. We must bring forth a new way of living that can sustain the world. Or else it is not just us who will die but everyone. What have we got to lose? Go forth and Fight!—Xan

So, we're going to ratchet the AG back from fantastic corruption and wingnuttery to pure wingnuttery. Splendid. CNBC:

White House sources confirm that U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement will serve as acting Attorney General once Alberto Gonazles leaves the Justice Department in mid-September. And to judge from initial soundings across Washington, no one will be surprised if Clement eventually becomes President Bush's choice to fill the job for the remainder of his term.

Consider these three political assets that Clement would boast. He was Supreme Court editor of the Harvard Law Review. He served as clerk for Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia (OK, that only helps with Republicans). And he's a native of Wisconsin, increasingly a swing state in presidential politics. Business might find him an ally as well; as my CNBC colleague Linda Sittenfeld points out, Clement as Solicitor General sided with business over shareholders in a key securities litigation case that the U.S. Supreme Court will hear in October.

Great to know that the next time Bush needs a Bush v. Gore style ruling, they've got the judges and the litigators both wired....

We. Are. Going. To. Die. We must restore hope in the world. We must bring forth a new way of living that can sustain the world. Or else it is not just us who will die but everyone. What have we got to lose? Go forth and Fight!—Xan

1. "failing upwards."

2. it's always worse than you imagined it would be.

so yes, the people who brought us Bush v. Gore? Purrrfect for AG, temp or permanent! heckuva job, chimpy!

I love the way "Al" ends his resignation letter:

I remain by your side...

Funny, I would have said "under your desk." But what do I know?

We. Are. Going. To. Die. We must restore hope in the world. We must bring forth a new way of living that can sustain the world. Or else it is not just us who will die but everyone. What have we got to lose? Go forth and Fight!—Xan

And my favorite, from Rep. Rahm Emmanuel (D-IL): "Alberto Gonzales is the first Attorney General who thought the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth were three different things."

"A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead