Investor's Business Daily

By Jed Graham

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Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced his resignation Monday, after months of turmoil that depleted the Justice Department's top ranks and further poisoned the Bush's administration's relations with Congress.

His departure gives the Bush administration the chance to retool a department that plays a critical role in the war on terror. But it opens the door to a potentially rancorous nomination battle. And it may do little to defuse White House tensions with Democratic lawmakers over claims of executive privilege related to the firing of eight U.S. attorneys.

Democrats Not Satisfied

"Under this attorney general and this president, the Department of Justice suffered a severe crisis of leadership that allowed our justice system to be corrupted by political influence," said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

"I hope the attorney general's decision will be a step toward getting to the truth about the level of political influence this White House wields over the Department of Justice," he said.

"Even with Gonzales gone," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., "Congress must keep pushing until we get truth and accountability on unanswered questions involving everything from illegal wiretapping to the U.S. attorneys scandal."

In brief remarks, President Bush made clear that he believes Democrats have trumped up a scandal for political purposes.

"It's sad that we live in a time when a talented and honorable person like Alberto Gonzales is impeded from doing important work because his good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons," the president said.

Bush named Solicitor General Paul Clement acting attorney general. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff emerged as a leading candidate to replace Gonzales. But that would vacate another cabinet post, requiring a second confirmation battle.

Republicans Relieved

Gonzales had few defenders on Capitol Hill, where even Republicans voiced relief at his departure.

"It doesn't appear that Attorney General Gonzales committed any crimes, but he did make management missteps and didn't handle the spotlight well when they were exposed," said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., in March had called on Bush to fire Gonzales, citing in part his failure to exercise effective supervision in the dismissal of U.S. attorneys.

Sununu on Monday said: "Our country needs a credible, effective attorney general who can work with Congress on critical issues ranging from immigration to investigating terrorism at home and abroad."

Gonzales didn't explain why he was leaving in his public announcement. But White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said, "The attorney general came to the conclusion that it was in the department's best interests that he step down."

Stanzel said the attacks on Gonzales "had an impact, an unfortunate impact on the Department of Justice, and it had an impact on the morale of officials there."

Before Gonzales' resignation, six top Justice officials had resigned in the wake of the uproar that followed the firing of eight U.S. attorneys last December.

Back in June, Bill Mercer, who was serving as interim associate attorney general and awaiting confirmation as the No. 3 Justice official, withdrew his nomination. Mercer wrote in a letter to Gonzales that "some senior Justice nominees will not be voted upon until the Senate receives e-mails and witnesses it has demanded from the White House."

Bush has claimed executive privilege in refusing to let departing White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers testify under oath.

The political backlash over the attorney firings began after Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty testified that the dismissals were related to performance, not politics, and that the White House was not involved.

At a March press conference, Gonzales admitted that "mistakes were made" in the firings, but he insisted that he wasn't involved in the discussions.

Evidence later tied Gonzales and the White House to the discussions.

His subsequent appearances before Congress further eroded his credibility; he repeatedly answered pointed questions by saying "I don't recall" or "I have no recollection."

Gonzales also denied that, as White House counsel in 2004, he had pressed then-Attorney General John Ashcroft on his sickbed to sign off on the renewal of the president's still-secret warrantless wiretapping program.

He acknowledged that he met with Ashcroft, but not over that issue.

Ashcroft's deputy, James Comey, contradicted Gonzales in congressional testimony.

Bush's decision to stand by Gonzales for so long may have reflected a realization that "whatever slings and arrows were aimed at Gonzales were really aimed at him," said Stephen Hess, a professor of media and politics at George Washington University.

But "not having Gonzales as AG does take some of the sting out of the conflict between the president and the Congress," Hess said. "Some members of Congress . . . felt almost personally abused by Gonzales' failure to remember what they thought he should have known."