Coburn: Gonzales Should Pay the Consequences

WASHINGTON (By Patricia Guadalupe, Hispanic Business) April 20, 2007 — Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), one of the most conservative members of Congress, said U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should resign because of the way he handled the firings of eight U.S. attorneys, including David Iglesias of New Mexico. The public has lost confidence in the Justice Department, Coburn said, and Gonzales should pay the consequences.

"It's generous to say that there were misstatements," Coburn said. "And I believe you ought to suffer the consequences that others have suffered and I believe to put this behind us, requires your resignation."

In testimony April 19 before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Gonzales admitted he could have handled the situation differently, but did not stray from his contention that nothing improper occurred.

The White House continues to back Gonzales, professing "full confidence" in him.

"President Bush was pleased with the Attorney General's testimony today," a White House statement said. "After hours of testimony in which he answered all of the senators' questions and provided thousands of pages of documents, he again showed that nothing improper occurred. He admitted the matter could have been handled much better, and he apologized for the disruption to the lives of the U.S. attorneys involved, as well as for the lack of clarity in his initial responses."

Gonzales nonetheless was criticized by another conservative Republican, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), who himself served as a U.S. attorney for 12 years. "It does appear that your statements given at the Department of Justice at a press conference incorrectly minimized your involvement in this matter. Your ability to lead the Department of Justice is in question. I wish that were not so, but I think it certainly is."

Democratic members are nearly united in questioning his ability to lead the department, and called for his resignation.

"I think that anyone who watched this morning's hearings can only come to one conclusion, and that is Alberto Gonzales should no longer be attorney general," said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).

In this video of the hearings, Senators grill Gonzales on his role in the firings, only to be met with more than 70 responses of "I Don't Recall."