Last week, Common Cause called on the House Judiciary Committee to start impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for demonstrating reckless disregard for the obligations of his office.
That cannot happen fast enough.
Each day seems to bring new revelations that further darken the cloud over Gonzales and his Justice Department, including that the Justice Department is investigating whether Gonzales sought to improperly influence the congressional testimony of his former aide, Monica Goodling, who acknowledged that she had "crossed the line," when she used political criteria in the selection of non-political positions within the Justice Department. The Los Angeles Times reports that the fallout can now be felt in federal courtrooms, where defense lawyers are raising questions about the motives of government lawyers prosecuting their clients.
What we know so far about the firings of the nine US attorneys and the fallout is a result of the hard work of the House Judiciary Committee and its determined efforts to expose the truth through congressional hearings.
But the committee needs to take the next step.
To date, the president and Attorney General Gonzales have refused to allow senior officials to testify under oath about any role they may have played in the firings or to provide important documentation on the issue.
The congressional impeachment process is specifically designed to protect the public from misfeasance by public officials. Given the stonewalling and recalcitrance of the administration over the attorney general's conduct, impeachment appears to be the only vehicle for vindicating the public's interest in having an attorney general who is free of conflicts of interest and who enforces the nation's laws in a fair and nonpartisan manner.
This episode is a blow to the integrity and credibility of our criminal justice system. And it comes at a time of corrosive public cynicism and distrust of government that has been fueled by recent political scandals. A failure to investigate and disclose to the American people will only exacerbate those feelings.
Our attorney general and our U.S. Attorneys have a long history of non-partisanship and of enforcing the nation's laws in a fair manner. That reputation has been tarnished and must be restored. Only through impeachment proceedings will the American public know the full truth about the role that the attorney general and the White House played in this episode.
Common Cause does not make this call for impeachment casually, but believes no further options remain for obtaining the necessary evidence to evaluate the attorney general's conduct. Common Cause therefore believes impeachment is the only remaining option to restoring the integrity of the Justice Department.
Please sign our petition in support of impeachment, and view our video making the case for impeachment against Gonzales.