WASHINGTON — Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced his resignation this morning, saying he told President Bush Sunday that he will step down Sept. 17.
Many Democrats — and some Republicans — had been calling for Gonzales' resignation for months based on his involvement, or lack thereof, of the Justice Department's firing of eight U.S. attorneys and the administration's policies on warrant-less wiretapping.
But Gonzales made no mention of this at a two-minute press conference today. Instead, he said leading the Justice Department has been one of "greatest privileges" and that he has "lived the American dream."
"Even my worst days as attorney general have been better than my father's best days," Gonzales said.
The Senate and House Judiciary Committees have been conducting investigations into whether the administration unfairly fired U.S. attorneys based on political motives after conflicting stories came out as to why they were asked to resign.
Kyle Sampson, a Utah native who had served as Gonzales' chief of staff, resigned in March and took responsibility for the controversy that erupted over the firings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sampson had maintained the list of attorneys under consideration to be fired, but Gonzales said he signed off on the final decision.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and a former chairman, has been fighting off rumors that he is next in line for the job.
Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said on "Meet the Press" April 1 that Hatch was "actively running" to be Gonzales' replacement to which Hatch replied, "Oh come on, Pat." Hatch was just re-elected to another six-year Senate term in the 2006 election.
Hatch's office notes the day of Leahy's statement, April Fool's Day, as something to note when evaluating the comments. But another item to note is that Hatch's former spokesman Peter Carr started as the new deputy director of public affairs at the Justice Department last week. Carr insisted his move was not based on the possibility of Hatch taking over as attorney general.
Hatch has repeatedly sided with the Justice Department and Gonzales' role as attorney general. He said in a statement issued Monday that Gonzales "has been the president's strong right arm in fighting terrorists using the tools of law enforcement, and he helped successfully protect the American homeland during his tenure."
"I hope that history will remember Attorney General Gonzales for his honorable service to his country, rather than for the absurd political theater to which some critics have subjected him," Hatch said in a statement. "He has overseen the Department of Justice's efforts to protect children from Internet predators, to combat human trafficking, and to prevent the spread of meth in our communities."
Outside the Justice Department's main building, one member of the group Code Pink played a tambourine while the other sang "hey hey hey — goodbye," into a megaphone at cars going down Constitution Avenue. Code Pink members, known for showing up at congressional hearings dressed in pink police officer uniforms, have repeatedly carried banners asking Gonzales to resign. A poster showed a list with check marks next to "Libby," for Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff who was convicted of lying and obstructing investigation in a CIA leak case ; "Rove," for Karl Rove, Bush's deputy chief of staff, who announced his resignation two weeks ago; and "Gonzo" for the attorney general; with empty boxes next to Bush and Cheney.
E-mail: suzanne@desnews.com