(But dumping him won't come easy to CheneyBushRove: more than most, Gonzo knows too much, knows where the bodies are buried, so to speak. Who can guess what he might be willing to tell a grand jury in order to save his own neck?)
GONZO'S LARGER CRIMES
As is often the case, the real crimes go uncharged and the thing that brings down the kingpin is a lesser scandal. In the 1930s, for example, Al Capone, the master mob boss, was imprisoned for non-payment of taxes rather than for the numerous murders and mayhem he engineered. In the case of Gonzales, he'll probably go down for covering-up his political maneuvering to fire competent, dedicated U.S. Attorneys and install Bush loyalists in their stead, ones willing to concoct phony "vote fraud" charges against Democratic opponents.
Gonzales would seem to fit in the Rove category of domestic-policy criminals, but Gonzo's impact on foreign/military policy is much, much larger. Consider: Gonzales is the one figure most responsible for creating a legal philosophy in support of Bush authoritarian rule whereby the President is permitted to violate the Constitution and laws passed by Congress whenever he says he's acting as "commander-in-chief" during "wartime."
That suspect legal philosophy also winds up justifying torture and other severe violations of Americans' civil liberties in the so-called "Patriot" Act, military tribunals, "extraordinary renditions" of suspects to countries notorious for their extreme interrogation methods, the forced disappearance of the 600-year-old legal tradition of habeas corpus, and so much more. In short, the "war on terrorism," Gonzales asserts, trumps all laws and constitutional protections.
However, Gonzales will not be removed from office for those gross crimes -- where domestic and foreign policies meet -- but because internal White House emails by others reveal his complicity in the politicalization of the U.S. Attorneys system, and because he lied publicly in his attempt to escape culpability.
RUNNING OUT OF SCAPEGOATS
It does the heart good to see the shrinking Bush Bunker crew start to run out of lower-level scapegoats (Libby the fall guy for Cheney, Rumsfeld the sacrificial lamb for continuing the Iraq war policy, Sampson and McNulty for Gonzales, et al.). That means that the genuine villains, those in control of policy, are now having to face the music.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
