Alberto Gonzales Testifies to Congress, Can't Remember Much

When Alberto Gonzales began testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning, expectations for the truth were low. The embattled attorney general did not disappoint. Gonzales couldn't seem to remember anything. In summing up the testimony after the hearing by saying "I cannot think of any time I have been more concerned, and more concerned for the system of criminal justice in this country." Indeed, many Americans feel the same way.

One might expect that the top law enforcement official for the United States might have a better memory. He has been virtually absent from the public arena for the past couple of weeks, having been hidden away to "practice" his testimony. He faced tough questions not only from Democrats but from some Republicans too. He did call the controversial firings of eight U.S. attorneys as "flawed" but went on to say that there was "nothing improper" in what happened. He also denied knowledge of meetings to discuss the firings.

"I have searched my memory" Gonzales said, responding to a question from Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) about one such meeting in November of 2006. He continued "I have no recollection of the meeting....I don't remember the contents of this meeting."

The grilling continued throughout the day, with one Senator after another asking strong questions that were met with denials of memory. The Senators and the public were skeptical. At one point, people in the gallery chanted "fire the liar!" as the hearing adjourned, some sang "nah, nah, nah, nah-nah-nah, hey hey, goodbye." One person held up a particularly illuminating running count of how many times (74) Gonzales said "I can't recall." It seems obvious to almost everyone-except maybe Gonzales and Mr. Bush-that the service of Alberto Gonzales as attorney general is about to come to an end.

What everyone needs to realize is that none of this would have come to light had it not been for the November 2006 elections which gave a majority to the Democrats. And the firings of the eight attorneys point to attempts by the Bush administration to put a fix in on that election, as well as manipulate the results of the 2008 vote. While they have made huge issues of so-called "voter fraud" they have made every attempt to stifle investigations of election fraud.

Voter fraud is when a person who is not eligible tries to vote, or when an eligible person tries to vote more then once. More people are struck by lightning each year in the United States than are charged with voter fraud. It simply doesn't happen that often. And when it does, it is often a mistake. A person who thinks they are eligible to vote actually isn't or something like that.

Election fraud is thought to be happening on a much larger scale. Concerns about the integrity of elections have persisted, especially in "swing" states. From big number instances in Florida and Ohio to smaller scale events in other states, the Republican machine led by Karl Rove has used a plethora of dirty tricks to help ensure their candidates emerge victorious.

In a speech to Republican Party lawyers Karl Rove identified 11 states that he felt would be critical in 2008 elections. Since 2005, President Bush has fired U.S. attorneys in nine of those states. The motive was clearly to ramp up fears of virtually non-existent voter fraud to hide much wider election fraud.

It is apparent that the end is near for Alberto Gonzales. But what about the rest? Interestingly enough, this wasn't even one of the prime areas that the newly elected Democrats wanted to investigate. It is only the first real investigation of anything the Bush administration has done. And look what it has uncovered! Already, there is a preponderance of evidence that could lead to the possibility of impeachment proceedings and/or outright criminal prosecutions. We can only imagine what dirt will be uncovered as time goes on.