No longer is there honor among thieves Republicans! Abu G heaves McNulty under the bus:

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday he relied on his resigning deputy more than any other aide to decide which U.S. attorneys should be fired last year.

"You have to remember, at the end of the day, the recommendations reflected the views of the deputy attorney general. He signed off on the names," Gonzales told reporters at a National Press Club forum in Washington. "And he would know better than anyone else, anyone in this room, anyone — again, the deputy attorney general would know best about the qualifications and the experiences of the United States attorneys community, and he signed off on the names."

O.M.F.G. Gosh, remember those happy days, those innocent days the Republicans were the accountability party?

I guess that Republican branding is inoperative.

Oh, but Gonzales does offer one fact:

The attorney general, who has resisted calls for his own resignation, said he relied on McNulty's views more than another other adviser. Gonzales said he was reassured by his deputy as recently as March that the firings all were justified.

Right. I wonder if any email that would disprove Gonzales's latest line of defense has been deleted?

NOTE Coptix. Sorry, just couldn't help myself!

NOTE Hey, irony really is not dead. Here's Abu G's vote of confidence in McNulty:

[Gonzales] added that McNulty had been instrumental in efforts against corporate fraud and had made "significant contributions to establishing the rule of law in Iraq."

"Significant" doesn't mean effective, of course.