By Deborah Newell Tornello a.k.a. litbrit
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will step down:
WACO,Tex., Aug. 27 — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, whose tenure hasbeen marred by controversy and accusations of perjury before Congress,has resigned. A senior administration official said he would announcethe decision later this morning in Washington.
Mr. Gonzales, whohad rebuffed calls for his resignation, submitted his to President Bushby telephone on Friday, the official said. His decision was notimmediately announced, the official added, until after the presidentinvited him and his wife to lunch at his ranch near here.
Mr.Bush has not yet chosen a replacement but will not leave the positionopen long, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymitybecause the resignation had not yet been made public.
Despite intensifying pressure, not to mention the accruing roar from critics onboth sides of the aisle, Gonzales has long held firm, refusing to admitany wrongdoing at any time, especially not as pertains to the raft ofpolitically-motivated US attorney firings. The verbal Möbius strips oftwisting, false, and oftentimes outright mendacious statements the Attorney General tossed around in sworn testimony before Congress have led some Congressmen to not only raise the question of filing perjury charges, but also start preparing articles of impeachment against him.
Andthough I follow politics as much as anyone who isn't directly involvedin government work--and certainly more than most busy mamas I know--Imust admit, this development caught me completely off-guard, just asRove's resignation did. As Minstrel Boy is fond of saying, when the wrecked ship begins to take on water, follow the rats.
