I know that there is a huge stinking pile of feces beginning to pile up around Gonzo and the Austin Gang, and I'm trying hard to keep up. So when I saw the tickler about the National Journal article by Murray Waas this morning I followed it to see what was new.
This concerns the internal investigation by the DoJ of the NSA scandal which was finally quashed after not really getting started because the DoJ lawyers couldn't get the necessary security clearances. I remember the story from late last spring, and I remember thinking it smelled funny then. The Wass article does a great job of explaining what happened and laying out a time line. This has been commented on by several other diaries here. But then right in the middle of the article was this paragraph and I was absolutely floored.
Current and former Justice Department officials, as well as experts in legal ethics, question the propriety of Gonzales's continuing to advise Bush about the investigation after learning that it might examine his own actions. The attorney general, they say, was remiss if he did not disclose that information to the president. But if Gonzales did inform Bush about the possibility and the president responded by stymieing the probe, that would raise even more-serious questions as to whether Bush acted to protect Gonzales, they said.
On Part A, I'm not surprised since I'm convinced Gonzo is a terrible lawyer. See the great 4 part series by Andew Cohen over at WaPo. But on Part B, if true, would this amount to obstruction of justice? This was an official DoJ investigation, duly requested by Congress (albeit Democrats). And an obstruction of a federal felony at that! If this is correct, doesn't that make this a much bigger deal than just the US Atty mess? Help me out here.
Note to Congress: Starting today, everybody...EV-RE-BOD-DAY...coming up to the Hill to testify has gotta raise that right hand and swear on a Bible or Koran or something.