James Nagy – 9/2/07

This page was last updated on September 6, 2007.

Pride felled Gonzales; James Nagy; Beaver County Times; September 2, 2007.

You probably recall most of Mr. Nagy’s letters are simply vehicles to bash Republicans in general and President Bush in particular. In a recent letter, Mr. Nagy lobbied for impeaching President Bush.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“The flaw that led Alberto Gonzales to resign as attorney general was pride.

“It was pride that led Gonzales to declare the Geneva Convention [sic] was out of date and quaint.”

[RWC] Not exactly. To put what Mr. Gonzales wrote into context, here’s an excerpt from a Newsweek article. “‘As you have said, the war against terrorism is a new kind of war,’ Gonzales wrote to Bush. ‘The nature of the new war places a high premium on other factors, such as the ability to quickly obtain information from captured terrorists and their sponsors in order to avoid further atrocities against American civilians.’ Gonzales concluded in stark terms: ‘In my judgment, this new paradigm renders obsolete Geneva’s strict limitations on questioning of enemy prisoners and renders quaint some of its provisions.’”

Further, when you read the Geneva Conventions, you find the enemy combatants we face in Afghanistan, Iraq, et cetera are not covered by the Conventions. I’ve covered the details of this in previous critiques.

“It was pride that led Gonzales, prior to being attorney general, to the sickbed of John Ashcroft to wrest executive-privilege [sic] for warrantless wiretapping from a man near death’s door.”

[RWC] “[N]ear death’s door?” Nothing like a little hyperbole, is there? Even a critical PG editorial conceded then-AG Ashcroft “was alert and astute” at the time. Also, the issue wasn’t “executive-privilege [sic].”

“It was pride that caused Gonzales to facilitate Guantanamo by offering legal arguments in its defense.”

[RWC] Note Mr. Nagy doesn’t tell us what’s wrong with the terrorist/POW prison at our Guantanamo Bay base.

“The law that forbids partisan politics to be conducted using federal resources is the Hatch Act.”

[RWC] Not exactly. Government is all about partisan politics. The Hatch Act doesn’t forbid “partisan politics to be conducted using federal resources.” The Hatch Act prohibits “using federal resources” for political activities like campaigning, soliciting contributions, etc. You can get more details at http://www.osc.gov/ha_fed.htm.

“Someone in the White House has, almost certainly, disregarded this rule. The attorney general is to be independent from White House pressure. The plethora of bile directed toward critics of the Bush administration should never have coursed through the vassals of the justice department [sic].”

[RWC] “The attorney general is to be independent from White House pressure?” The AG is a political appointee just like the other Cabinet members. In addition to running the Department of Justice, the AG’s role is to further the President’s lawful policies. For example, if the President wants to place emphasis on prosecution of certain federal crimes, it’s the AG’s job to carry out that policy. That’s why incoming presidents generally appoint their own AG rather than keep the AG from the previous administration. The AG reports to the President just as every other member of the executive branch.

Regarding the “plethora of bile” comment, have you noticed some of us can see an alleged “plethora of bile” in the words of others, but not in our own?

“Evidence that Gonzales was an advocate for the White House at the expense of the general public is Gonzales’ lack of memory.

“Who made substantive changes to the published guidelines meant to avoid altering the outcome of elections? For example: Charges are not to be brought right before an election that after the election may need to be dropped for lack of proof.

“Who placed the names of eight attorneys on a firing list? According to Gonzales, the list was properly created, but he could not recall any of the details of its creation. His memory seems to have been redacted.”

[RWC] Let’s remember a few facts usually overlooked in discussions of this issue.

First, U.S. attorneys are political appointees appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. In addition to being “the chief federal law enforcement officer of the United States within his or her particular jurisdiction,” a U.S. attorney’s role is to further the President’s lawful law enforcement policies as noted above for the AG. Second, the subject eight U.S. attorneys served their full initial four-year terms. Third, because U.S. attorneys are political appointees, the President may fire or not reappoint them for any reason. To date, even those folks in the Senate after Mr. Gonzales’ head reluctantly concede they’ve seen no evidence of illegal activity in this matter.

“Other details of wrongdoing at work are recorded elsewhere.”

[RWC] “Other details?” Talk about a drive-by smear campaign. This letter didn’t provide any details – only accusations, so why should be believe “Other details of wrongdoing at work are recorded elsewhere?”

“On the home, front Gonzales stated: ‘Even my worst days as attorney general have been better than my father’s best days.’ The nobility of his father’s honest work didn’t seem to make an impression on Alberto.

“It was pride that caused Gonzales to pick an American fantasy over an ethical reality.

“May we learn from the mistakes of others.”

[RWC] A mistake Mr. Nagy hasn’t learned from is engaging in name-calling and character assassination while failing to present verifiable supporting evidence.