"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." Alberto Gonzales's sorry tenure in the Bush administration would seem to give credence to Shakespeare's oft-cited incitement against the legal profession.
The primary responsibility of the attorney general is to uphold the Constitution and laws of the United States in a fair and even-handed manner. In failing to comprehend this responsibility, Alberto Gonzales compromised himself, his office, the Constitution, and ultimately even the president who appointed him.
The responsibility every attorney general owes the nation is to raise hard legal and constitutional questions within the administration whenever the president is tempted to overreach the limits of his authority. Gonzales, however, chose to function more like the president's personal legal strategist, doing everything in his power to justify the president's apparent desire to authorize torture, deny detainees access to the writ of habeas corpus, order unlawful electronic surveillance, and institute legal proceedings that defy due process of law.
There is no excuse, other than cronyism and personal weakness, for Gonzales's confusion about his appropriate role, and in point of fact, he and future office holders could learn much from the extraordinarily disciplined and principled actions of some of his predecessors who also served our nation in perilous times.
After the outbreak of World War II, Attorney General Robert Jackson warned the nation's prosecutors that "times of fear or hysteria" have often resulted in cries "for the scalps" of those with dissenting views. He exhorted his U.S. Attorneys to steel themselves to be "dispassionate and courageous" in dealing with "so-called subversive activities."
After Franklin Roosevelt appointed Jackson to the Supreme Court, he was succeeded as Attorney General by Francis Biddle. On December 15, 1941, Biddle reminded the nation that in time of war, "hysteria and fear and hate" run high, and "every man who cares about freedom must fight to protect it for other men" as well as for himself. Even when Roosevelt pressured his Attorney General to prosecute those who criticized his policies, Biddle courageously resisted. Later, when the public began to call for the wholesale internment of individuals of Japanese descent, Biddle furiously opposed such a policy as "ill-advised, unnecessary, and unnecessarily cruel."
In a face-to-face meeting with Roosevelt, Biddle told the president that such a program could not be justified "as a military measure." Although Roosevelt overrode Biddle's objections largely for political reasons, he later rightly observed that the episode had shown "the power of suggestion which a mystic cliché like 'military necessity' can exercise." He added sadly that because of a lack of independent courage and faith in American" values, the nation had missed a unique opportunity to "assert the human decencies for which we were fighting."
In 1971, the public began to learn that the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, and the Army had engaged in a widespread program of investigation and secret surveillance of anti-Vietnam war protesters in an effort "to expose, disrupt and otherwise neutralize" the antiwar movement. A congressional committee found that the government, "operating primarily through secret informants," had "undertaken the secret surveillance of citizens on the basis of their political beliefs," and that the FBI alone had "developed over 500,000 domestic intelligence files" on public officials, journalists, entertainers, professors, and ordinary citizens.
In the face of such revelations, and in his role as Attorney General, Edward Levi created stringent guidelines which reiterated and reaffirmed the rights of all Americans by clearly and carefully circumscribing the investigative authority of the FBI. The "Levi guidelines" expressly prohibited the FBI from investigating, discrediting, or disrupting any group or individual on the basis of protected First Amendment activity. These guidelines were rightly hailed as a major advance in law enforcement and a critical step forward in protecting the rights of American citizens against overzealous and misguided government officials. Alberto Gonzales helped eviscerate the Levi guidelines during the years of the Bush presidency.
Of course, it is not all Gonzales's fault. In truth, he should never have had the privilege of serving as Attorney General of the United States. Robert Jackson, Francis Biddle, and Edward Levi were men of great intellectual distinction, integrity, and character. Alberto Gonzales is not. But for his long-standing friendship with George W. Bush, he would never have been, and should never have been, within hailing distance of a position of such responsibility. He was in over his head.
By failing to protect American values and individual liberties, Alberto Gonzales has not just discredited himself, his office, and his profession. He has also compromised the Constitution. "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." It is worth recalling that these words were uttered in Henry VI not by a lawyer's disgruntled client, but by a conspirator in Cade's Rebellion who was plotting to overthrow the rights and liberties of the English people. "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." It is men like Robert Jackson, Francis Biddle, and Edward Levi who represent the highest ideals of public service and the true spirit of the legal profession. It is men like Alberto Gonzales who give the profession a bad name.
with the position of A.G. after faithful
service as GWB's personal legal counsel,
then his 'ascendancy to power'
makes some sense.
As counsel, he managed to come up with some
plausible interpretations of the Geneva
Accords language, including the notion that
much of the Accords are 'quaint', which is
literally true. Just what the client was
looking for!
And in the Bush 'theory' of government, that
is sufficient to get you a promotion.
It's a pity that he was in way over his head.
Well, they both were, no?
Lawyers are advocates. Who they advocate for is the real issue. I notice that those that hate lawyers the most are often those that would screw others for profit, although those that would screw others for profit often employ lawyers. The key is they don't want the WORKERS to have lawyers.
Another important area, and in my judgment a greater one because it affects us all, is the aggressive campaign to reform (read:deform) tort law in terms of placing caps on non-econmic damages such as physical pain and suffering, loss of society, mental pain and depression arising from a serious, disabling, permanent injury. Related to this is the effort to impose severe limitation on the recovery of punitive damages where the defendant has been so reckless in the circumstances that his conduct approaches intent and especially where a corporate defendant has a recurring record of the same or similar conduct giving rise to injuries or death and has been indifferent to the consequences as shown by defendant's failure to change its operations, safety programs, or quality control procedures.
The Reichwingers attack the trial lawyers as special interests of the Democrats, their objective is to convince the Dupes that these lawyers are destroying America. The truth is that these lawyers are bringing corporate and personal defendants' (through their insurers) to account for their negligent/willful conduct.
What goes unsaid in the Reichwinger propaganda, and without thought among the willing Dupes in their reaction of frenzy against trial lawyers, is the fact that those representing the defendants in tort actions are also trial lawyers. However, the focus is trained on plaintiffs' lawyers as the scoundrels whom Democrats and "free-loading frauds" in our society rely for support.
The Bush Administration has done major damage to this country. Our standing in the world community has been severely compromised, thanks to Bush,Gonzales and their cronies. We'll be generations recovering.
The purpose was to incite the PNAC neocons to do exactly what they did and declared they would do in their various manifestos issued prior to 9-11.
BushCO took the bait and set about demolishing our cherished Bill of Rights and constitutional system of checks and balances.
Rolling Stone Magazine did a great article in the September issue about privatization and the grab bag of the Iraq war for defense contractors and others. We are arming and financing both sides. Thousands of tons of one-hundred dollar bills were printed up and thrown around. Billions have disappeared with no accounting.
It is time to stand up and demand an accounting of this massive waste, fraud, and abuse by cronies of the Bush administration.
They know who we really are in the Middle East - everyday is a test of a man's character - and the Scooters, Gonzalez', and other lawyers who were supposed to stand up for the Constitution engineered its demise, and, in tracing whose pockets were lined by this illegal and immoral war, you will know who benefited - qui bono - follow the money.
Let's go after these lawyers who assisted in undermining the Constitution and set an example. Complain to their licensing agencies where they can't hide behind BushCo.
We were a nation of wimps and crooks and cowards. We failed the test. Chock one up for "terror." Let's turn this around before we have a self-appointed dictator. First thing we do let's rally all the lawyers.
This Scalia clone resulted in the the subversion of states rights to put George # 2 in office. This was the beginning of the reversal of Americas progress and why America has lost status as a world leader. We lack the integrity and have an administration that rewards clonyism with running the country aand the war. Iraq and Katrina proved that we have failed internationally and domestically. Too bad George # 2 and Cheney # 1
don't folow Gonzales out the door.
Let's make an example of the Bush Administration that Democracy is still strong and just.This should help deter the meglomaniacs from seeking office. We should also knock the rest of them down to size
Public servants- let's start with their salaries, then their 'fringe' benefits, ultimately their Egos. Be humble public servant- for your reward is in a job well done for the community
CAVE ADSUM
In a rush to guarantee their vacation time, Congress allowed this administration unrestricted access to our freedoms, the foundation of our laws and this nation’s existence. Giving these away does not make us more secure. The use of fear and threats is what terrorism is all about. The current administration has intimidated critics, the media and public for far too long. The newly elected representatives were to stop the insane policies, secrecy, falsehoods and to get real answers to serious issues, not to cave into the demands of those putting our nation at risk. This is despotism, not democracy.
Our soldiers are braving sweltering temperatures and fighting a losing battle overseas without a recess or break. Day and night their lives are at risk. Could our “representatives” not spend adequate time to debate and thwart the assault on our liberties? We’re trying to export democracy, but in the process, witnessing shredding our own Constitutional rights and laws which the currently elected representatives seem helpless or uncaring to stop. We all like vacations and time off work.
Allowing Alberto Gonzalez to judge and determine what is or is not legal in terms of privacy, rule of law and Constitutional rights is like putting a fox to guard a hen house. Most within the Congress agree he’s misled them or given only partial or less than satisfactory accounting of activities of the Justice Department, and yet authorized this very man to oversee warrant-less surveillance. Thus far, everything the administration has wanted and asked for is “legal” according to Gonzalez.
Are our elected representatives powerless, spineless or just interested in securing their own vacations at the expense of their constituents?
What a marvelous, clear-sighted article.
Too bad it can't run on the front page of every newspaper and be read in every high school and college classroom.
It's THAT SIMPLE.