June 8, 2007
Posted: 03:32 PM ET

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Senate will hold a politically-charged vote Monday related to a no-confidence resolution in the embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

In a statement issued Friday, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, an author of the no-confidence resolution, said if all senators followed their conscience, ‘this vote would be unanimous.’”

“However, the president will certainly exert pressure to support the attorney general, his longtime friend,” Schumer added. “We will soon see where people’s loyalties lie.”

The attorney general is under scrutiny by Congress over last year’s dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys.

Schumer's statement is in reference to a procedural vote Monday on whether to proceed to a direct "no confidence" resolution.

Senate Republican leadership aides tell CNN most Republicans will vote against the motion, primarily because they view the resolution as politically motivated. Schumer heads the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee.

Last month, Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, predicted Gonzales would resign before facing a “substantial” no-confidence vote.

“I think that if and when he sees that coming, that he would prefer to avoid that kind of an historical black mark,” the Pennsylvania senator told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on May 20.

But a day after Specter’s comments, Bush reiterated his support in Gonzales and denounced the prospect of a no-confidence vote as “pure political theater.”

Filed under: Alberto Gonzales


morton cederbaum green valley az   June 10th, 2007 7:41 pm ET

At the time of this comment their are 43 negatives and no positive. What is wrong with this republic when an incompetent immoral croney can remain in office simply because he is a friend of an incompetent immoral president.

Walter Deans   June 10th, 2007 4:12 pm ET

This adminastration has been corupt from the beginning. It is time to take the house of cards down.

Bob, York, PA   June 10th, 2007 3:08 pm ET

I think that Congress needs to stop trying to make the President look bad and do what the Hell we send them to Washington for.

TO ALL CONGRESS PEOPLE>>>>>DO YOUR JOB AND STOP WORRYING ABOUT HOW TO SCREW THE OTHER PARTY.

Raul, Tampa Fl   June 10th, 2007 2:15 pm ET

Gonzalez' hands are dirty with the blood of innocent men that were executed in Texas. HE KNOWS THIS!!! Resign now!

MG Loraine, San Mateo, CA   June 9th, 2007 11:55 pm ET

Another symbolic, non-binding resolution is indeed merely political theater – very disappointing to people who are expecting the bluster to eventually result in some action.

Wake me when we get to the impeachments and war-crimes trials…

Mke York, NYC, NY   June 9th, 2007 9:59 pm ET

What took so long?

Jaime Jaraba El Paso, Texas   June 9th, 2007 7:15 pm ET

It's unfortunate that with so many qualified Hispanics, republicans as well as democrats, this guy, Gonzalez, has to have such an important position.It is obvious that he's not qualified and that he is, or was, a YES man, nomitated by the president for payback reasons. This is a man who has no principles and who follows the dismal politics of Carl Rove, another man who has proven to be totally inept. I'm embarrassed not only to be a Hispanic but also to be a Texan.
But looking on the positive side, it's great that he was not appointed to the Supreme Court. We would have along with Clarence, the token black, the token chicano in the highest court.Dumb and Dumber in the higher court! Make it the three stooges with Sam Alito. At least Harriet Myers had integrity and that's probably why even Republicans derailed her nomination.Bush is fast becoming one of the most inept presidents in history.The old Chenney/Bush ticket has proven to be a ticket to failure.
Culturally Hispanics are stubborn for we rarely believe in compromising, in accepting that we're wrong and changing what neds to be changed. Unfortunately,Gonzalez is living up to the streotype, just what our kids need -a role model to justify our shorcomings.What a nightmare!

Philbert, Phoenix, OR   June 9th, 2007 4:45 pm ET

Interesting that all these cronies stay on and it gets attributed to Bush's loyalty to them. It's more likely, as in the case of Gonazales, (who used to be Bush's attorney in Texax and covered up DUI's for him, and kept him out of jury duty so junior wouldn't have to reveal his history of drug use) that the cronies have so much on shrub that he can't get rid of any of them. Not until he finds a way to buy them off that they're satisfied with.

M. Boyd Everett WA   June 9th, 2007 4:09 pm ET

dismisssing the attorneys wasn't "pure political theater"?

Doug - Portland, Oregon   June 9th, 2007 2:54 pm ET

You don't understand. It is imperative for Abu Gonzales to STAY in office. He's the one who's ultimately responsible to prosecute any "funny business" with vote caging and the like. 2008 isn't that far away and they're already at it. Investigate that!! Of course, everyone will want to wait until AFTER the election to do anything. 2000 and 2004 will repeat itself. We need action NOW.

Don ,Sp[ringfield,Ill   June 9th, 2007 1:04 pm ET

Fredo Gone-Zales President Bush's Corrupt Chiuhuha Lap Dog Must be Fired, Tried and Convicted of all the wrong doings he and Master Bush have inflicted on all humanity,
The same trials, conditions, and injustice system that has jailed hundreds at Gitmo should apply to the Worst AG in US history.
Abu Ghraib Perhaps?
D. Hudson

Lou Branch, Lodi, Ca.   June 9th, 2007 12:42 pm ET

The closer we get to the elections of 2008 many of the GOP lawmakers will
start chanting 'bye 'bye "Fredo". Gen.
Pace has already gotten the word. The
problem is that our country is "going to hell in a handbasket" while the "decider" is in charge.

Bill Mac Bean, Klamath Falls, Oregon   June 9th, 2007 12:39 pm ET

Vote of No Confidence? I'll believe it when I see and hear it. So far, the "Democrats" we elected have elected to sell out to the bushies, and I, for one, am skepical, to say the least.

Richard Hein, New York, NY   June 9th, 2007 9:50 am ET

Impeach Gozales and tell Bush that if he puts another crook in charge of Justice with a recess appointment that congress will decrease the White House budget by 30%.

Rocco, Wellington, FL   June 9th, 2007 8:39 am ET

"Senate Republican leadership aides tell CNN most Republicans will vote against the motion, primarily because they view the resolution as politically motivated. Schumer heads the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee."

This point tells the story why our Nation is heading in the wrong direction, any up standing American person will agree that Mr. Gonzales has over stayed his welcome as attorney general. But the leaders of our country just don't get. If the american people don't start to pay attention, get involved and tell theor representives enough is enough, God help us all!

Mike Fenton, Morristown, NJ   June 9th, 2007 8:08 am ET

The damage done to he DOJ will last for years. Worse yet is the damage to our federal government. This president has succeeded in ruining the federal government through his incompetent managing of everything, appointing people who have his warped moral center, and through the use of corupt, expensive consultants everywhere.

Cycle3man, New hyde Park, NY   June 9th, 2007 2:28 am ET

Bush deep seated insecurity is demonstrated by his holding on to all these incompetent losers instead of jettisoning them as soon as they are exposed.

Ronnie, Batesville, Arkansas   June 9th, 2007 1:21 am ET

I approve of what the legislative branch is doing. Let the President know that they, along with the American people, disapprove of his choice for Attorney General. The Will of the People should be the FIRST consideration of our elected officials. It is about time that our President understands this. What better decision to make than for our legislative branch to show their support or lack thereof.

Poggy, Sunnyvale, CA   June 9th, 2007 1:00 am ET

Figures. These wimpy democrats are afraid to go after this criminal. Why waste time with a no confidence vote? Congress is authorized by the constitution to impeach this worm. But no, the republicans will accuse them of overreaching. Wimps!

John, Washington, D.C.   June 8th, 2007 11:47 pm ET

I'll wait and see how this turns out and if there are really votes that come to the floor.

But look how bad his skin is. He should never be allowed to serve in public office. (Actually, Bush has pretty bad skin, too. Luckily, the mainstream media doesn't inflict too many close-ups on us.)

Trev - not an american   June 8th, 2007 11:32 pm ET

Does it really matter if Gonzalez stays the term… its only 1 more year really and the guy is totally under the microscope now.

And yes.. the Democrats totally wimped on this one. There is evidence everywhere that these people got fired because they were ticking off republicans by leading very damaging investigations against them. Fire them.. get rid of them.. and replace them with party loyalists .. thereby politicizing the law and ruining democracy. Bush should be impeached for this… Gonzalez is just his pawn.

Eric, LA, CA   June 8th, 2007 10:23 pm ET

I don't understand how anyone can still want to support this guy! It is a travesty that he will quite possibly retain his role as AG after the vote. The DOJ will be tainted for years to come..

JC, spudderville, washington   June 8th, 2007 9:56 pm ET

Why bother with a no confidence vote, he won't resign, and bush won't fire him? What he really needs is to be IMPEACHED! Then IMPEACH cheney, then IMPEACH the pretzledent…

Simon Frank   June 8th, 2007 9:48 pm ET

True, Gonzalez must go, but if we hope to rid our national leadership of the fulcrum of high crimes and misdemeanors, power gone amok, falsified intelligence, and intimidation, then Cheney must be impeached (H.R. 333). It astonishes me why we dance around this matter.

Monte, Dunedin, Florida   June 8th, 2007 9:35 pm ET

Gonzales has no allegiance to truth, justice, or the United States of America. He's Bush's lackey, and he should be given the boot. He has no honor, and no integrity to hold himself out as a public servant.

Joshua Smithers, Miami, FL   June 8th, 2007 9:34 pm ET

The Commander Guy, and all of his little Commanderettes, are really gonna be PO'd!!

Cycle3man, New Hydw Park, NY   June 8th, 2007 9:17 pm ET

I think Congress has finally got his attention and he realizes that his game is over. How do I know this?

Well look at the photo: "The smirk is gone"

Wayne, Los Angeles, CA   June 8th, 2007 7:54 pm ET

Owooo "no confidence," owoooo. I'll bet that has the Bushies shaking in their shorts.
Prediction: The no confidence vote goes down the tubes and the Dems end up with egg on their face – again. Iraq funding bill Redux.
Nothing is going to change until the Republicans in the House and Senate decide that the future of this country is more important than the Bush legacy, and so far they have not shown any inclination to dump Bush/Chaney/Rove. They're just going to continue the same ol' same ol', hoping that Rove can pull another miracle out of his hat. Meanwhile, our kids die in Iraq in ever increasing numbers.
This country is truly going to hell.

digdug, Porterville California   June 8th, 2007 7:02 pm ET

"…worried about a historical blackmark…"

What makes anyone think conservatives care about anything beyond advancing their narrow, extremist agenda, and putting more profiteering cronies in positions of power while they pretend to be proponents of capitalism?

Conservatives don't care what others think of them. All evidence to the contrary, they have convinced themselves of their purity and "rightness". Nothing can talk them down. No logic nor rational debate makes a dent.

They are convinced they are right (ignoring reality in the process), and will drag everyone else down with them rather than admit all the destruction they wreak.

Anonymous   June 8th, 2007 6:42 pm ET

It makes a person wonder just how disgusting and corrupt an ATTY GEN would have to be for Bush to fire him?

James, Chapel Hill, NC   June 8th, 2007 6:14 pm ET

YIPPEE! Now, extend the vote to include King George and you really have something!

Alhambra, California,   June 8th, 2007 6:14 pm ET

No confidence vote? What's wrong with impeachment and indictment? Forget about Paris Hilton. The last time I checked, kidnapping, torture, and illegal wiretapping were felonies.

chas.D. Storrs, Ct.   June 8th, 2007 5:52 pm ET

Notice that Gonzales says he will stick it out till the end. So what will Spector do? G.is not going until the Republicans open their Human eyes and act. Until then, Bush owns them.

Get a Clue   June 8th, 2007 5:27 pm ET

hey B and other moronic Republican operatives that insist on spewing the official party propaganda. Yes the Democratic congress has spent a long time doing what is suppose to be doing – OVERSIGHT, something the Republi-Clones couldn't seem to do.

And the reason whey they keep coming up short is that Good old Alberto is following in his good buddy Scooter's footsteps and doing whatever he can to thwart the investigation and obstruct justice. Just the kind of trait you want in an Attorney General.

Get a clue and start thinking for yourselves or you can continue to be the laughing stock of the nation along with your buddy Bush

David Elliott Toronto Ontario   June 8th, 2007 5:21 pm ET

This non-confidence vote should have happened long ago and would have saved a lot of grief.

Jimbo, Lakewood Colorado   June 8th, 2007 4:51 pm ET

Nothing will happen…the President will do whatever he likes and the Congress will wimper in the corner. Merely slapping his hands with a non-binding vote of no confidence will not embarrass the un-embarrassable. This will merely be another diversion from the killing fields of Baghdad.

david birmingham,al   June 8th, 2007 4:47 pm ET

the whole darn administration needs to be thrown in jail. as an alabamian, i can tell you that even in the deep south people are waking up. i was 7 years ahead of everyone else, and i've had to say "i told you so." the only reason it has taken so long is because our irresponsible media is too busy covering blondes who've died, gone missing or who are addicted to drugs instead of covering genuine issues that matter, like the survival of our republic.

Todd York, Arizona   June 8th, 2007 4:46 pm ET

You might think it's a joke, but when is someone finally going to ask him to define "illegal"?

Bob Hazelwood,MO   June 8th, 2007 4:32 pm ET

Send him packing. It is disgraceful how he did not support the Border Guards who are now in prison for doing their jobs. I am a Conservative, but Bush is sure no conservative, and this is his good buddy. Get rid of them all!!

billbo baggins   June 8th, 2007 4:31 pm ET

Typical of Democrats…another meaningless action.

Mike Rockville, Maryland   June 8th, 2007 4:29 pm ET

I wish he had more to say about China poisoning our food and hygeine products. We sure owe them a lot of money and somehow the Founding Fathers never said we should be so indebted to a communist country. Strangest thing. i'm sure he could find it to be legal…..and just an oversight of the Founders. Owing money to communist countries is one thing, but shouldn't our currency have to be gaining value to keep it legal? Mr. Gonzales, any thoughts?

Disabled Counterterrorism Veteran   June 8th, 2007 4:19 pm ET

Gonzo's politization of the justice, unamerican torture policies, divisiveness, evasiveness of the truth, etc.. has undermined democracy and good throughout. We must eject this evildoer and his band of theives in the the name of all the good that the United States formerly stood for in hopes of returning our nation back from the direction of Evil and Greed the Bush Administration has a set course on.

Victor, Indianapolis, Indiana   June 8th, 2007 4:13 pm ET

We're at war and he still has no problem with an open border………unless it's in Iraq. he's not that hard to figure out.

BigShot, Orlando Florida   June 8th, 2007 4:13 pm ET

Another one of Bush's political cronnies out of a job. Say Hello to Michael Brown at the unemployment line. Way to go Republicans.

E. Keats, NY, NY   June 8th, 2007 4:09 pm ET

And let the door hit him hard on the way out.

Joe Wilson, Atlanta, GA   June 8th, 2007 4:05 pm ET

I wonder if he will resign in disgrace, but nothing seems to embarass him. The number of stories keeps making the Republicans look very bad and he is like the gift that keeps on giving for Democrats.

Marcus, Seattle, WA   June 8th, 2007 3:58 pm ET

An unbinding vote of no confidence? That's really stupid. Why bother? It will mean nothing to The Decider, and it will mean even less to Gonzales.

How bout instead, going for a conviction on the War Crimes Act of 1996…which in this case would carry a maximum of the death penalty…I quote…

Sec. 2401. War crimes

(a) OFFENSE- Whoever, whether inside or outside the United States, commits a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions, in any of the circumstances described in subsection (b), shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for life or any term of years, or both, and if death results to the victim, shall also be subject to the penalty of death.

This man, before he became the nations most nefarious Attorney General, was perhaps the main facilitator of Bush Torture-World, and many deaths are known to have resulted from the torture techniques that Gonzales and others codified with their "legal" opinions.

The only question to ask regarding these evil men is, are they beyond the law? Do the president and all of his people get a pass on not only upholding and defending the law, but also on obeying the law? If they do, give them a no confidence vote so they can get on with their "righteous" work of torturing and murdering "bad guys" for the American people. But, if they don't get a legal pass, give them all trials for the crimes they are accused of, and if convictions are achieved, let the penalties be meted out according to the law. I am NOT an advocate for the death penalty, but considering Bush's record of death penalty punishment in Texas (which was consistently supported by Gonzales), I'd make an exception in this case.

God help this country if these evil men are not held to the standard of law. This country will never be whole and right until men like these answer to the law. And only then will the US Constitution again be in effect.

Brizzle, San Diego, CA   June 8th, 2007 3:47 pm ET

Finally…what took so long to get this vote?

John, Shreveport, LA   June 8th, 2007 3:38 pm ET

The next A.G. will probably be a Liberty University graduate. Monica G., perhaps?

Jacksonville, Fl.   June 8th, 2007 3:35 pm ET

Bush will have to find another corrupt attorney.

2.0 weblogs   June 8th, 2007 3:30 pm ET

This guy is a liar and a constitutional law breaker. He should resign or join Paris in a shameful cell.

Ivan Sandhez, Santa Fe, NM   June 8th, 2007 3:22 pm ET

Gonzales needs to step down, nothing more!

Chris, Springfield PA   June 8th, 2007 3:17 pm ET

I can't believe this guy is still in office. He needs to go. At what point does a person finally realize he isn't wanted and needs to move on?

The Administration has been nothing but one disgrace after another.

Skip, Asheville, NC   June 8th, 2007 3:15 pm ET

This man has no shame! He won't resign and will stay until King George orders him gone which won't happen!

Joe, Madison WI   June 8th, 2007 3:12 pm ET

Cares more for power than the law. What more reason is there to say that he doesn't belong as AG? We'll see how many Republicans who said they want him out have the courage of their convictions.

J (Atlanta, GA)   June 8th, 2007 3:11 pm ET

The President talks big on loyalty, but he puts loyalty to his friends like Shady Gonzales ahead of any loyalty he might have to the American people. And if Alberto Gonzales had any guts, he would just man up to what he did and resign. The Pres didn't save Scooter and he won't save AG either.

Sonia Evans   June 8th, 2007 3:04 pm ET

Please a no confidence vote is a joke. Gonzalez wont leave. The democrats are wimps…Just impeach the liar and be done with it.

Ben   June 8th, 2007 3:04 pm ET

Out, out, out!!!

Karen - Novato, California   June 8th, 2007 2:59 pm ET

When the media chooses a really bad photo of a politician such as the one in this article on CNN, and uses it, you know he's out of favor!

Bad photo. Bad Attorney General
Let's just call him Alberto GONE zales.

B-   June 8th, 2007 2:57 pm ET

How about we have a "no-confidence" vote on Chuck Schumer. Since they spent 6 months investigating this and can't produce any evidence they decide to take this route which is entirely based on opinion. "We don't like the guy" is not good enough for me. How about a "no-confidence" vote on William Jefferson or Jack Murtha or Nancy Pehosi. Now you're talking.

Janet, Brooklyn NY   June 8th, 2007 2:45 pm ET

About time, he needs to go. He is a disgrace.

Doug, Erie PA   June 8th, 2007 2:38 pm ET

This is the same AG who thinks 'Ed Rosenthal' is public enemy #1. It's certainly time for Gonzalez to go. I didn't think anybody could be worse than John Asscroft, and then along came Alberto.

L. Dougherty lansdale, Pa.   June 8th, 2007 2:38 pm ET

Get him out of office.

jay jay omaha ne   June 8th, 2007 2:28 pm ET

YAYHOOOOOOO!!!!

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