Gonzales Resigns! Good Riddance!

Posted by Steve Benen at 4:53 AM on August 27, 2007.

This post, written by Steve Benen, originally appeared on The Carpetbagger Report

In March, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said, "I'm not going to resign. I'm going to stay focused on protecting our kids." In June, he said promised to "sprint to the finish line" to "accomplish all the goals that are important to me."

And now, Gonzales is walking away from the job he never should have been given in the first place.

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.

U.S. News' Paul Bedard often does a good job keeping his ear to the ground, but his latest rumor is an odd one.

The buzz among top Bushies is that beleaguered Attorney General Alberto Gonzales finally plans to depart and will be replaced by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. Why Chertoff? Officials say he's got fans on Capitol Hill, is untouched by the Justice prosecutor scandal, and has more experience than Gonzales did, having served as a federal judge and assistant attorney general.

For what it's worth, Bob Novak reported a month ago that "there are a number of cabinet members who would like to leave," but by all indications, Gonzales isn't one of them. Indeed, the AG's departure would likely be perceived as a defeat for the White House, which is perhaps the principal reason Gonzales is still the nation's chief law-enforcement officer. (Am I suggesting the president would keep an incompetent and dishonest Attorney General on the job out of spite? Yes.)

What's more, when Gonzales' troubles really started hitting the fan in March, Mike Allen was the first to report Chertoff was on a short-list of possible replacements, so I suppose there's some precedent to Bedard's rumor.

Color me skeptical. I don't doubt that if Bush were willing to replace Gonzales, he'd probably pick someone who stood a good chance of being confirmed, but I think it's probably an overstatement to suggest Chertoff is popular among lawmakers. Indeed, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has already called on Chertoff to resign.

And while it's certainly true that Chertoff is untainted by Gonzales' multiple DoJ scandals, he is tainted by his own DHS scandals, including the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, his "gut feeling" fiasco, and some controversial staffing decisions.

Regardless, that's the rumor. Take it with a grain of salt.

Tagged as: chertoff, gonzales

Steve Benen is a freelance writer/researcher and creator of The Carpetbagger Report. In addition, he is the lead editor of Salon.com's Blog Report, and has been a contributor to Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, Crooks & Liars, The American Prospect, and the Guardian.