What Ken Salazar's friend Alberto Gonzales did at DoJ

Senator Ken Salazar has said Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is his friend. I'm sure Karl Rove got a little chuckle out of that one.

Ken also said this about Gonzales regarding the highly questionable firings of Republican nominated US Attorneys last November:

“I am disappointed that the Department of Justice may have blurred the line between representation of President Bush and representation of the people of the United States. I understand that distinction well – having served as both Chief Counsel to the Governor of Colorado and later as Attorney General. Those are two very different positions – one requires representation of an individual and his administration, the other requires representation of the people of the United States.

If Attorney General Gonzales has indeed crossed this line, then he has forfeited his right to lead the Department of Justice.”

News today indicates that AG Gonzales signed a highly unusual order abdicating his responsibility as our "Nation's Lawyer" and giving over to White House operatives the ability to hire and fire all United States Attorneys.

The National Journal reports:

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales signed a highly confidential order in March 2006 delegating to two of his top aides -- who have since resigned because of their central roles in the firings of eight U.S. attorneys -- extraordinary authority over the hiring and firing of most non-civil-service employees of the Justice Department. A copy of the order and other Justice Department records related to the conception and implementation of the order were provided to National Journal.

In the order, Gonzales delegated to his then-chief of staff, D. Kyle Sampson, and his White House liaison "the authority, with the approval of the Attorney General, to take final action in matters pertaining to the appointment, employment, pay, separation, and general administration" of virtually all non-civil-service employees of the Justice Department, including all of the department's political appointees who do not require Senate confirmation. Monica Goodling became White House liaison in April 2006, the month after Gonzales signed the order.

When Alberto Gonzales said "I was not involved in seeing any memos, was not involved in any discussions about what was going on" he may have told the truth. But he left out the part about giving over professional decisions to the White House, the part about completely neglecting his duties as chief law enforcement officer of our nation.

And he surely left out the many half-truths, misleading statements and outright deceptive answers he gave in testimony to the United States Senate -- testimony that Ken Salazar attended.

Here is some of what Ken Salazar said at Alberto Gonzales' nomination hearing in front of the United States Senate way back when Gonzales had the benefit of the doubt:

"I believe his decision to reach out to me, someone who is from a different political party, is an indication of his interest in working with all of us in making our homeland more secure, and at the same time protecting our citizens' rights and liberties. I have shared with Judge Gonzales my views on a few priority items I would like to work on with the Justice Department and with this important committee under your leadership. Judge Gonzales has pledged to me his willingness to work on these issues.

....snip....

"I am hopeful that Judge Gonzales will satisfactorily address the concerns of the Senate, and I am hopeful that he will become the next United States attorney general for our nation."

Ken's simplistic support of Alberto Gonzales was rewarded by the senate. He got his wish for his friend. But did his friend reciprocate and execute his duties to the highest standard of the job?

In his support of Gonzales' nomination, Senator Salazar ignored the execution memos written by his friend that allowed George Bush to sign death warrants for improperly represented clients.

Salazar has also ignored Gonzales' role in justifying torture at Abu Ghraib and the stripping of habeas corpus rights for the citizens of this nation.

Now the politically motivated firings (and retention) of US Attorneys from around the nation, including that of David Iglesias of New Mexico, are tied directly to the malfeasance of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Ken Salazar's friend.

When will Ken Salazar make the only honorable decision and ask publicly for his failed friend to resign?

When will Ken Salazar make good on his strong words and hold AG Gonzales accountable for the damage done to our Constitution?

When will Ken Salazar remember that we are a nation of laws, not "friends"?