WHEN DID HE...

WHEN DID HE KNOW ORDER IT? Right out of the box at today's big hearing, Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez cast himself as the fall guy for decisions made by "the White House," i.e., President George W. Bush and his Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove. In the opening volley of questions served by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Partrick Leahy, Gonzo said that he would never have initiated the removal of of U.S. attorney for political reasons, "nor do I believe that anybody in the department would advocate for such a purpose." (Emphasis added.) The attorney general then admitted that he had "heard concerns" about U.S. attorney David Iglesias of New Mexico from Rove and "the president." Iglesias, you'll recall, refused to pursue a voter fraud case against Democrats prior to the 2006 congressional elections (he was not able to find damning evidence), which prompted a phone call from New Mexico's Republican Sen. Pete Domenici, who improperly attempted to pressure Iglesias to prosecute the targeted Democrats. Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) called Iglesias with a similar message.It's time to renew demands that Rove be made to testify before the Judiciary Committee on his role in preparing this little enemies list.--Adele M. Stan