[Infowarrior] - Gonzales Resigns as Attorney General

[Richard Forno]

August 27, 2007
Gonzales Resigns as Attorney General
By STEVEN LEE MYERS

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/27/washington/27cnd-gonzales.html?_r=1&hp=&or
ef=slogin&pagewanted=print

WACO, Tex., Aug. 27 ­ Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, whose tenure has
been marred by controversy and accusations of perjury before Congress, has
resigned. A senior administration official said he would announce the
decision later this morning in Washington.

Mr. Gonzales, who had rebuffed calls for his resignation, submitted his to
President Bush by telephone on Friday, the official said. His decision was
not immediately announced, the official added, until after the president
invited him and his wife to lunch at his ranch near here.

Mr. Bush has not yet chosen a replacement but will not leave the position
open long, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the
Attorney General's resignation had not yet been made public.

Mr. Bush had repeatedly stood by Mr. Gonzales, an old friend and colleague
from Texas, even as he faced increasing scrutiny for his leadership of the
Justice Department, including his role in the dismissals of nine United
States attorneys late last year and questions about whether he testified
truthfully about the National Security Agency's surveillance programs.

"We're watching a political exercise," Mr. Bush said at a news conference
this month, dismissing accusations that the Attorney General had stonewalled
or misled a congressional inquiry. "I mean, this is a man who has testified,
he's sent thousands of papers up there. There's no proof of wrong."

Mr. Gonzales's resignation is the latest in a series of high-level
departures that has reshaped the end of Mr. Bush's second term. Karl Rove,
another of Mr. Bush's close circle of aides from Texas, stepped down two
weeks ago.

The official said that the decision was Mr. Gonzales's and that the
president accepted it grudgingly. At the same time, the official
acknowledged that the turmoil over his tenure as Attorney General had made
continuing difficult.

"The unfair treatment that he's been on the receiving end of has been a
distraction for the department," the official said.