Business as Usual for Alberto Gonzales

May 1, 2007 — -- He's been lambasted over the controversial firings of eight U.S. attorneys last year and heckled for the "I don't recall" responses he gave when testifying before Congress. Many in Washington had been predicting that he would have been run out of town by now. Not so fast. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is standing firm.

In the weeks since his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the firings, Gonzales has been trying to show it's business as usual at the Justice Department.

Gonzales has held a press conference on combating identity theft, participated in a photo-op with Mexico's attorney general, and this week is traveling to Indiana and Oklahoma to discuss issues raised by the deadly shootings at Virginia Tech.

"I think it couldn't be more obvious. He's maintaining a higher profile than during his entire time in Washington to show that he's not wounded by continuing fallout from the scandal," Norm Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute told ABC News.

"He's hoping that eventually, people will tire from the deathwatch."

But some members of Congress aren't ready to let that happen just yet. Critics have shouted from the top of Capitol Hill that Gonzales should step down -- and the calls aren't all from Democrats. Broad support from Republicans has been noticeably absent.

Loyal Republican Sen.Tom Coburn of Oklahoma blasted Gonzales during his testimony last month, charging that the attorney general bungled the firings and should accept the consequences that come with accepting responsibility for the errors.

"It was handled incompetently. The communication was atrocious. It was inconsistent," said Coburn. "It's generous to say that there were misstatements. That's a generous statement. And I believe you ought to suffer the consequences that these others [the U.S. attorneys] have suffered."

Coburn added: "And I believe that the best way to put this behind us is your resignation."

Gonzales' testimony -- peppered with "I don't recall" responses -- ultimately became comic fodder.

On Comedy Central's "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," host Stewart traced the evolution of Gonzales' stance on the firings controversy, from "The Ken Lay defense -- I'm not corrupt, I'm a horrible leader," to "The chair defense -- I was in the room [during key meetings] as an inanimate object."

Noting that Gonzales had likely practiced and rehearsed his appearance before Congress, Stewart marveled at the number of "I don't recall" answers.

"After weeks of mock testimony, there you have it. Alberto Gonzales doesn't know what happened. But he assures you, what he doesn't remember was handled properly," joked Stewart.

In a recent David Letterman countdown called Top Ten Little Known Facts About "American Idol's" Sanjaya, the comedian got a laugh when he hinted that it wasn't "American Idol" voters that sent the singer packing, but that he was "recently fired by Alberto Gonzales." The kicker -- a viewer suggested that line.

Jay Leno simply joked, "Attorney General Alberto Gonzales raised his right hand and swore to tell the truth. Then everybody had a good laugh and went back to business."

Comedy aside, the weeks leading up to the hearing proved to be a difficult road for Gonzales.

"The attorney general is basically forced into the position of having one of two stories. One, I was completely asleep at the switch while my senior staff was running off and doing terrible things without my knowledge, or two, I lied. It's hard to justify him staying either way," said Ornstein.

Even during press conferences touting the Justice Department's latest efforts to combat crime, the questions inevitably veer off the subject at hand -- if they even started there -- right back to the firings.

At an April 23 press conference on identity theft, Gonzales tried to move the questions along.

"I can't just be focused on the U.S. attorney situation. I've also got to be focused on what's really important for the American people," he said.

"I'm focused on making sure our kids are safe, making sure our neighborhoods are safe, making sure consumers are safe, and that's one of the reasons I'm here today. So, you know, I'm focused on doing the job for the American people."

Gonzales reiterated his plans to remain in his position, saying, "I will stay as long as I feel I can be effective, and I believe I can be effective."

It might look as though Gonzales is firmly ensconced in the hot seat. But right now he is surviving, because there is only one voice that matters at the moment: the president's. President Bush has made it clear he stands by his top law enforcement official. After the much criticized testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Bush praised Gonzales, and put forth his own attempt to shift the focus away from the fired attorneys matter.

"The attorney general has the full confidence of the president, and he appreciates the work he is doing at the Department of Justice to help keep our citizens safe from terrorists, our children safe from predators, our government safe from corruption, and our streets free from gang violence," a White House statement said.

Ornstein observes an interesting dynamic between the president and the attorney general, whose time together dates back to Bush's days as governor of Texas.

"This is a president for whom loyalty is at the top of the priority list. There's a good part of this quality that's admirable… He obviously has an extremely close relationship with Gonzales," Ornstein said.

There is another factor, he added. "You have a president who hates to admit mistakes and encouraging Gonzales to resign would be acknowledging there was a scandal," Ornstein continued.

So far no one has produced any evidence of criminal wrongdoing, leading some to ask how real this scandal really is. After all, the president does have authority to fire U.S. attorneys at will.

But this political struggle is far from resolved. One committee recently granted immunity to Monica Goodling, a former top Justice Department official, in a play to secure her testimony about the firings, and a showdown is brewing between Congress and the White House over testimony and documents related to the matter.

The Justice Department has already turned over close to 5,000 pages of internal documents and e-mails in an attempt to clear the air.

"There are many more shoes to drop," remarked Ornstein.

"We'll see more hearings form various committees. We'll see the unfolding of the investigation within the Department of Justice and more digging by reporters," he said.

As for Gonzales' survival, perhaps there will be not be any more embarrassing revelations. Perhaps the story will fade from front page headlines to the back pages of public consciousness. That's what the attorney general and White House are hoping for. But his critics expect more damaging evidence that might force Gonzales to leave.