This leads to the same question others have asked, and that is, where is the scandal? I'd prefer to go in a slightly different direction.
I don't particularly like Alberto Gonzales and he's the star player in this tale, which contains a strong implication the current AJ engaged in unethical behavior regards the NSA surveillance program. But before we send him off to Gitmo it might be wise to pause and ponder why there the event caused such a stir.
Here are some possibilities: 1) the nature of the threat was so serious that almost any action was necessary to continue the program without interruption, a chilling thought, 2) he was worried that Ashcroft might die and wasn't sure Comey knew enough to know enough or was trying to pull some kind of coup by refusing to sign, or 3) he realized Comey was now aware of Bush's diabolical plot to take over the world.
We don't know enough to conclusively answer numbers one and two (we can speculate) but number three doesn't make any sense in light of the fact Bush met with Comey and told him to follow his conscience and get the program made legal, which he did. That's not very impressive behavior for a budding megalomaniac but it does fit nicely with the left's characterization of his incompetence. That seems to leave 1 or 2.
In George Tenet's book he detailed a plot involving nukes along with various other sinister attacks that were discovered and prevented after 9/11. He strongly defended the secret prisons and "enhanced interrogation". Surprisingly, he said very little about the anthrax attacks.
On the flip side Ari Fleischer (who had resigned the year before the Comey event) was a lot more candid about the letters in his book, even devoting a chapter title to them. After admitting the government still doesn't know who pulled off the attack he rather forcefully argued against Iraq. He didn't rule out bin Laden or other states, though, so allow me to offer one more piece of evidence.
When Khalid Shiekh Mohammed testified in his hearing at Gitmo he claimed to be involved in scores of attacks. Oddly, one of them was redacted from the public release:
From the report, page 18:Why would one attack be stricken from public knowledge after the fact? Let's get some perspective, here. It's not as if the Comey affair occurred in peacetime--we know there were serious threats floating around. The NSA surveillance program had been authorized for over two years at that point and was obviously in place for a very specific reason.
1. I was responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center Operation.
2. I was responsible for the 9/11 Operation, from A to Z.
3. [REDACTED]
4. I was responsible for the Shoe Bomber Operation to down two American airplanes.
After all is said and done shouldn't we be wondering about what was said during Comey's meeting at the White House that changed his mind about resigning?
MORE 5/17/07
Lefties are nearing a state of hyperventilation on this issue as they probably smell some Attorney General blood in the water with hopes it might lead to the 20 foot Great White prize known as Karcharodon Rovearcharias. Air America was dutifully on the story, providing their roughly 1000 listeners with biting commentary (they're all crooks) while Jeralyn Merritt pointed out a letter Chuck the Schmuck sent to AlGonzo about his inconsistent testimony regarding the Comey hospital drama.
The Minute Man fired back by cleverly pointing out that Gonzales was probably parsing NSA programs when he last testified about them to Congress:
I'll bite - to what program was Gonzalez referring when he limited his comments to "the wiretapping program confirmed by the President in December 2005"? Was that the same program that DoJ objected to in March 2004? Or was the objectionable March 2004 version Terrorist Surveillance Program 1.0, supplanted by Terrorist Surveillance Program 2.0 after incorporation of the DoJ objections? Or did DoJ object to a specific operational element of TSP 1.0, which was dropped for 2.0?It's clear there was either a completely different program before Comey objected, which was reorganized into the same one James Risen blew back in 2005, or he was talking about something else entirely, which would definitely provide a new wrinkle.
But again, the question nobody wants to ask (or answer) is why. Exactly what made the president feel so strongly about the issue that he'd risk breaking the law? Certainly could have been general paranoia after 9/11 and Tenet's book was filled with threats, so those two together could answer the question. But I'm not convinced.
Oh yeah--while he's busy coring out the Justice Department perhaps Chuck Schumer might want to explore this development. Seems we have the makings of a country song here, so let's have a full investigation into why Sandy was lying and stealing and why ole Gonzo let him off easy.
MORE 5/17/07
AJ Strata has lots of background on this and hits Comey pretty hard as a "Gorelickite". He's right that Comey once punched a time clock in the Southern District of New York, which is why he chose his best friend Patrick Fitzgerald for the Libby case after Ashcroft recused himself. But I'm reluctant to jump on any bashwagon yet since 1) I don't know Comey, and 2) it's possible Bush did commit a crime by allowing an illegal program to continue based on unfavorable opinions from the DOJ. Admittedly there are some interesting dots to connect, though.
By the way, after the hospital docu-drama Comey came out a short time later and, according to some, torpedoed the Jose Padilla case by spilling most of the intelligence we had on him including the mention of a cozy dinner with KSM and Binalshibh the night before he left Afghanistan to come back to Chicago. Comey didn't do this on his own, but it might rear its head during Padilla's upcoming trial. He also mentioned Padilla's association with Ammar al-Baluchi, yet another nephew of KSM just like WTC bomber Ramzi Yousef, who Comey should have been quite familiar with based on their historical crossroads. Amazing how one family made such a big impact.
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