May 15, 2007
Comey: Gonzales Pressured Ashcroft On Surveillance
UPDATED.
The White House bypassed a resistant Justice Department on its controversial domestic surveillance program three years ago, according to a former No. 2 at the department.
Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey, who was the top aide to then-AG John Ashcroft, told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee today that White House officials also sought to go over his head and appeal to a hospitalized Ashcroft -- even though Ashcroft's condition made Comey the acting attorney general at the time.
Comey described a late-night visit to Ashcroft's hospital room by Andrew Card, then the White House chief of staff, and Alberto Gonzales, then the White House counsel. Alerted by Ashcroft's wife, Comey and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller raced to the hospital, anticipating that Card and Gonzales would try to coax Ashcroft into approving the surveillance program.
"They greeted the attorney general very briefly," Comey said. "And then Mr. Gonzales began to discuss why they were there -- to seek his approval for a matter, and explained what the matter was."
Then Ashcroft, weakened from gall bladder surgery and acute pancreatitis, explained his objections to the program, which Comey and Mueller shared. Finally, he said, "But that doesn't matter, because I'm not the attorney general."
Card and Gonzales left the hospital room, all but ignoring the acting attorney general, Comey said.
"I was very upset. I was angry. I thought I just witnessed an effort to take advantage of a very sick man, who did not have the powers of the attorney general because they had been transferred to me," he told the panel. Comey said the episode nearly prompted him to quit.
The warrantless wiretap program, which was revealed to the public in 2005, triggered a battle between the White House and lawmakers, with Pennsylvania Republican Arlen Specter leading the charge.
In January, the White House abruptly announced it was dropping the program. But its new proposal for wiretapping terrorist suspects hasn't satisfied previous critics. Earlier this month, members of the Senate Intelligence Committee ordered the White House to provide more details on how wiretaps will be obtained, citing recent revelations of the FBI's practice of circumventing judges on obtaining wiretaps.
Comey's testimony offers a surprising indication that Ashcroft was at odds with the White House on at least some aspects of post-9/11 intelligence-gathering. The former attorney general stepped down in January 2005, by all appearances on good terms with the administration. In his recently released autobiography, Ashcroft describes his illness and treatment in intensive care, but does not mention the episode related by Comey. The former Missouri senator in the book and in public appearances has defended many of the Bush administration's most controversial post-9/11 policies.
Comey's appearance on the Hill was part of a congressional investigation of the firings of eight federal prosecutors last year. Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty resigned yesterday, throwing even more fuel on the firings scandal. Today, Gonzales said that McNulty oversaw the firings. The consensus seems to be that this is worse news for Gonzales than McNulty.
CongressDailyPM (subscription), CNN, the Los Angeles Times, Legal Times and the Washington Post have more on Comey's testimony.
Newsweek spotlighted Comey's rebellion against the White House on the surveillance program last year.
Posted at 6:37 PM
Posted to:
Alberto Gonzales, Attorney Scandal, James Comey
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