Truthout News Links
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The Legal Times: Bush's Radical Change of Department of Justice Exposed
Gonzales's testimony revealed a department that has lowered the traditional walls erected between the White House, Main
Justice and the US attorneys' offices in the field, former Justice officials say. And that could have a profound impact
on the way the department carries out its business in the future.
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Agence France-Presse: Schumer - White House Must Come Clean
Senator Chuck Schumer insisted Sunday that the White House needed to allay concerns over the firings of federal
prosecutors. "Someone had to come up with this scheme," the Senate leader said about last year's sackings of eight
prosecutors, which were allegedly politically motivated.
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The New York Times Editorial: Gonzales v. Gonzales
The editors of The New York Times write: "If Attorney General Alberto Gonzales had gone to the Senate yesterday to
convince the world that he ought to be fired, it's hard to imagine how he could have done a better job short of simply
admitting the obvious: that the firing of eight United States attorneys was a partisan purge. Mr. Gonzales came across
as a dull-witted apparatchik, incapable of running one of the most important departments in the executive branch."
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The New York Times: Gonzales on a Very Hot Seat With Little Cover and Less Support
It did not bode well for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales when, before he uttered his first word to the Senate
Judiciary Committee on Thursday, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) looked at him as if he were headed to the gallows and
offered this advice: "Be alert and direct and honest with this committee. Give it your best shot." Things only went
downhill from there for the attorney general.
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Roll Call: FBI Raids Another GOP Congressman's Family Business
In a second blow to House Republicans this week, the FBI raided a business tied to the family of Representative Rick
Renzi (R-Arizona). The Renzi investigation may be connected to the firing of former US Attorney Paul Charlton, who was
forced out of office in December in a purge of federal prosecutors that Congress is currently investigating.
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The News Tribune: DNC Sues Justice Department Over Emails
The Democratic National Committee sued the Justice Department on Thursday, demanding it turn over any email traffic with
the Republican Party on the US attorneys controversy and criminal investigations.
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The Associated Press: Gonzales Takes Fire From GOP and Dems on Senate Panel
His job in jeopardy, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said today that no impropriety was involved in the dismissal of
eight federal prosecutors, and that the decision was "justified and should stand." Appearing before a plainly skeptical
Senate Judiciary Committee, Gonzales conceded that "reasonable people might disagree" with the decision.
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