



« Harvard classmates diss Gonzales | Latest postings | Obama camp: It's not about etiquette » Originally posted: May 15, 2007

Gonzales tried to 'take advantage' of sick Ashcroft Posted by Frank James at 12:38 pm CDT James Comey, the former deputy attorney general, told a riveting story at today’s Senate Judiciary hearing of a March 2004 hospital-room encounter at which, in Comey’s words, then White House counsel Alberto Gonzales tried to “take advantage” of a critically ill John Ashcroft to get him to certify a national security program about whose legality the Justice Department had profound doubts. According to Comey, Gonzales and then White House chief of staff Andrew Card visited an exceedingly sickly Ashcroft to get him to override the Justice Department’s concerns about the program which Comey wouldn’t identify but is widely known to be the National Security Agency’s controversial domestic eavesdropping project which the Bush Administration calls the Terrorism Surveillance Program. The story of Ashcroft beating back Gonzales’s attempt to get him to sign off on the program had been reported before. But this was the first time one of the main characters at the meeting had publicly talked about it, providing a wealth of details. Comey, who was acting attorney general during Ashcroft’s illness, described rushing to George Washington Hospital after he learned that Gonzales and Card were headed there, and beating them to Ashcroft’s room where Ashcroft’s anxious wife awaited. He recalled putting in a call to Federal Bureau of Investigation director Robert Mueller who immediately headed for the hospital himself but first ordered his agents to not allow Comey to be removed from the hospital room by anyone. Comey told how when Gonzales and Card arrived, they walked over to Ashcroft’s bed and after a brief greeting, announced why they were there which was followed by what sounds like a scene from a Hollywood film. A very weak Ashcroft, who had appeared disoriented to Comey just minutes earlier, lifted his head from the pillow and said very cogently why he refused the certify the program, a position based on discussions he had with Comey and other Justice officials before he got sick, then said they should be talking to Comey anyway since he was the acting AG. Then Ashcroft lowered his head back to the bed. Comey remembered how the two men left the room without saying a word to him and how later he got an angry call from Card. In short, based on what Comey described, Gonzales may be one of the few people in Washington who could successfully make his predecessor, John Ashcroft, look like a civil libertarian and liberal hero. Here’s a portion of the transcript from today’s hearing with some of Comey’s gripping testimony which came in response to a question by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY.) The sense one gets is that there were some very serious Republican officials in Washington who were very much worried about what they saw as sinister behavior by some other very serious Republican officials. Remarkable stuff. SEN. SCHUMER: Thank you. Okay, we're going to get right into the questioning, because Mr. Comey does not have an opening statement. As I said in my opening remarks, many have been concerned that Alberto Gonzales has made the Justice Department a mere extension of the White House, where independence takes a back seat to service to the White House, where the rule of law takes a back seat to the political needs of the president's party.



Before we get to the other issues, I want to go back to an incident from the time that Mr. Gonzales served as White House counsel. There have been media reports describing a dramatic visit by Alberto Gonzales and Chief of Staff Andrew Card to the hospital bed of John Ashcroft in March 2004, after you as acting attorney general decided not to authorized a classified program. First, can you confirm that a nighttime hospital visit took place? MR. COMEY: Yes, I can.



SEN. SCHUMER: Okay, can you remember the date and the day? MR. COMEY: Yes, sir, very well, it was Wednesday, March the 10th, 2004. SEN. SCHUMER: And how do you remember that date so well? MR. COMEY: This was a very memorable period in my life, probably the most difficult time in my entire professional life. And that night was probably the most difficult night of my professional life, so it's not something I'd forget. SEN. SCHUMER: Okay, were you present when Alberto Gonzales visited Attorney General Ashcroft's bedside. MR. COMEY: Yes. SEN. SCHUMER: And am I correct that the conduct of Mr. Gonzales and Mr. Card on that evening troubled you greatly. MR. COMEY: Yes. SEN. SCHUMER: Okay, let me go back and take it from the top. You rushed to the hospital that evening. Why? MR. COMEY: I'm only hesitating because I need to explain why -- SEN. SCHUMER: Please. I'll give you all the time you need. MR. COMEY: Okay, sir, I've actually thought quite a bit over the last three years about how I would answer that question if it was ever asked, because I assumed that at some point I would have to testify about it. The one thing I'm not going to do and be very, very careful about is, and because this involved a classified program, I'm not going to get anywhere near classified information. I'm also -- am very leery of and will not reveal the content of advice I gave as a lawyer or deliberations I engaged in. I think it's very important for the Department of Justice that someone who held my position not do that. SEN. SCHUMER: In terms of privilege. MR. COMEY: Yes, sir. SEN. SCHUMER: Understood. MR. COMEY: Subject to that, I -- and I'm uncomfortable talking about this, but I'll answer the question. SEN. SCHUMER: I understand. MR. COMEY: I -- to understand what happened that night, I've kind of got to back up about a week. SEN. SCHUMER: Please. MR. COMEY: In the early part of 2004, the Department of Justice was engaged -- the Office of Legal Counsel, under my supervision, in a reevaluation both factually and legally of a particular classified program. And it was a program that was renewed on a regular basis and required signature by the attorney general certifying to its legality. And the -- and I remember the precise date; the program had to be renewed by March the 11th, which was a Thursday, of 2004. And we were engaged in a very intensive reevaluation of the matter. And a week before that March 11th deadline, I had a private meeting with the attorney general for an hour, just the two of us, and I laid out for him what we had learned and what our analysis was in this particular matter. And at the end of that hour-long private session, he and I agreed on a course of action. And within hours he was stricken and taken very, very ill -- SEN. SCHUMER: You thought -- just assuming -- you thought something was wrong with how it was being operated or administered or overseen? MR. COMEY: We had -- yes, we had concerns as to our ability to certify its legality, and -- which was our obligation for the program to be renewed. The attorney general was taken that very afternoon to George Washington Hospital, where he went into intensive care and remained there for over a week. And I became the acting attorney general. And over the next week, particularly the following week, on Tuesday, we communicated to the relevant parties at the White House and elsewhere our decision that, as acting attorney general, I would not certify the program as to its legality, and explained our reasoning in detail, which I will not go into here, nor am I confirming it's any particular program. That was Tuesday that we communicated that. The next day was Wednesday, March the 10th, the night of the hospital incident. And I was headed home at about 8:00 that evening. My security detail was driving me. And I remember exactly where I was, on Constitution Avenue, and got a call from Attorney General Ashcroft's chief of staff telling me that he had gotten a call -- SEN. SCHUMER: What's his name? MR. COMEY: -- David Ayres -- that he had gotten a call from Mrs. Ashcroft, from the hospital. She had banned all visitors and all phone calls. I hadn't seen him or talked to him, because he was very ill. And Mrs. Ashcroft reported that a call had come through and that as a result of that call, Mr. Card and Mr. Gonzales were on their way to the hospital to see Mr. Ashcroft. SEN. SCHUMER: Do you have any idea who that call was from? MR. COMEY: I have some recollection that the call was from the president himself, but I don't know that for sure. It came from the White House. And it came through, and the call was taken in the hospital.

So I hung up the phone, immediately called my chief of staff, told him to get as many of my people as possible to the hospital immediately. I hung up, called Director Mueller and -- with whom I'd been discussing this particular matter and who had been a great help to me over that week, and told him what was happening. He said, "I'll meet you at the hospital right now." Told my security detail that I needed to get to George Washington Hospital immediately. They turned on the emergency equipment and drove very quickly to the hospital. I got out of the car and ran up -- literally ran up the stairs with my security detail -- SEN. SCHUMER: What was your concern? You were in obviously a huge hurry. MR. COMEY: I was concerned that given how ill I knew the attorney general was, that there might be an effort to ask him to overrule me when he was in no condition to do that. SEN. SCHUMER: Right. Okay. MR. COMEY: I was worried about him, frankly. And so I raced to the hospital room, entered, and Mrs. Ashcroft was standing by the hospital bed. Mr. Ashcroft was lying down in the bed. The room was darkened. And I immediately began speaking to him, trying to orient him as to time and place, and try to see if he could focus on what was happening. And it wasn't clear to me that he could. He seemed pretty bad off, and -- SEN. SCHUMER: And at that point, it was you, Mrs. Ashcroft and the attorney general and maybe medical personnel in the room. No other Justice Department or government officials. MR. COMEY: It was just the three of us at that point. I tried to see if I could help him get oriented. As I said, it wasn't clear that I had succeeded. I went out in the hallway, spoke to Director Mueller by phone. He was on his way. He handed the phone to the head of the security detail, and Director Mueller instructed the FBI agents present not to allow me to be removed from the room under any circumstances. And I went back in the room. I was shortly joined by the head of the Office of Legal Counsel, Assistant Attorney General Jack Goldsmith, and a senior staffer of mine who had worked on this matter, an associate deputy attorney general. So the three of us Justice Department people went in the room. I sat down. SEN. SCHUMER: Can you just give us the names of the two other people?

MR. COMEY: Jack Goldsmith, who was the assistant attorney general, and Patrick Philbin, who was associate deputy attorney general. I sat down in a(n) armchair by the head of the attorney general's bed. The two other Justice Department people stood behind me. Mrs. Ashcroft stood by the bed holding her husband's arm, and we waited. And it was only a matter of minutes that the door opened and in walked Mr. Gonzales carrying an envelope and Mr. Card. They came over and stood by the bed, greeted the attorney general very briefly. And then Mr. Gonzales began to discuss why they were there, to seek his approval for a matter, and explained what the matter was, which I will not do. And Attorney General Ashcroft then stunned me. He lifted his head off the pillow and in very strong terms expressed his view of the matter, rich in both substance and fact, which stunned me, drawn from the hourlong meeting we'd had a week earlier, and in very strong terms expressed himself, and then laid his head back down on the pillow. He seemed spent, and said to them, "But that doesn't matter, because I'm not the attorney general." SEN. SCHUMER: But he expressed his reluctance or -- he would not sign the statement that they -- give the authorization that they had asked. Is that right? MR. COMEY: Yes. And as he laid back down, he said, "But that doesn't matter, because I'm not the attorney general. There is the attorney general," and he pointed to me -- I was just to his left. The two men did not acknowledge me; they turned and walked from the room. And within just a few moments after that, Director Mueller arrived. I told him quickly what had happened. He had a brief -- a memorable, brief exchange with the attorney general, and then we went outside in the hallway. SEN. SCHUMER: Okay.

Now, just a few more points on that meeting.

First, am I correct that it was Mr. Gonzales who did just about all of the talking; Mr. Card said very little? MR. COMEY: Yes, sir. SEN. SCHUMER: Okay. And they made it clear that there was in this envelope an authorization that they hoped Mr. Ashcroft, Attorney General Ashcroft would sign? MR. COMEY: Yeah, in substance. I don't know exactly the words, but it was clear that's what the envelope was. SEN. SCHUMER: And the attorney general was -- what was his condition? I mean, he was -- he had -- as I understand it, he had pancreatitis, he was very, very ill, in critical condition, in fact?

MR. COMEY: He was very ill. I don't know how the doctors graded his condition. This was -- this would have been his sixth day in intensive care, and as I said, I was shocked when I walked into the room and very concerned as I tried to get him to focus. SEN. SCHUMER: Right. Okay, let's continue. What happened after Mr. Gonzales and Card left? Did you have any contact with them in the next little while? MR. COMEY: While I was talking to Director Mueller, an agent came up to us and said that I had an urgent call in the Command Center, which was right next door. They had Attorney General Ashcroft in a hallway by himself, and there was an empty room next door that was the Command Center. And he said it was Mr. Card wanting to speak to me. I took the call; Mr. Card was very upset and demanded that I come to the White House immediately. I responded that, "After the conduct I had just witnessed, I would not meet with him without a witness present." He replied, "What conduct? We were just there to wish him well." And I said again, "I -- after what I just witnessed, I will not meet with you without a witness, and I intend that witness to be the solicitor general of the United States." SEN. SCHUMER: That would be Mr. Olson. MR. COMEY: Yes, sir. Ted Olson.

"And until I can connect with Mr. Olson, I'm not going to meet with you." He asked whether I was refusing to come to the White House. I said, "No, sir, I'm not. I'll be there. I need to go back to the Department of Justice first," and then I reached out through Command Center for Mr. Olson, who was at a dinner party. And Mr. Olson and the other leadership of the Department of Justice immediately went to the department, where we sat down together in a conference room. SEN. SCHUMER: Keep going. MR. COMEY: And talked about what we were going to do. And about 11:00 that night -- this evening had started at about 8:00 when I was on my way home -- at 11:00 that night, Mr. Olson and I went to the White House together. SEN. SCHUMER: Just before you get there, you told Mr. Card that you were very troubled by the conduct from the White House room and that's why you wanted Mr. Olson to accompany you -- without giving any of the details, which we totally respect, in terms of substance.

Just tell me why. What did you tell him that so upset -- that so upset you? If you didn't tell him, just tell us. MR. COMEY: I was very upset. I was angry. I thought I had 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. I thought he had conducted himself -- and I said to the attorney general -- in a way that demonstrated a strength I had never seen before, but still I thought it was improper. And it was for that reason I thought there ought to be somebody with me if I'm going to meet with Mr. Card. Asked about Comey’s testimony at the White House briefing this afternoon, White House Press Secretary Ton Snow merely said: “His testimony can stand on its own.’’ And so it does.

in Justice | Permalink Comments Just another day in the office for these corrupt thugs. Posted by: athena | May 15, 2007 1:02:16 PM Gonzo should go before there's no one left at DoJ. Fall on your sword, man! This week's Frontline on PBS is about the NSA domestic spying program. If you can't catch it on the tube, Frontline is available online following the broadcast: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/homefront/ Posted by: Kenny Bunkport | May 15, 2007 1:15:54 PM I've been waiting for the moderate conservatives to stand up and take their party back from the NeoCon fanatics in the Bush administration and members of their fanclub on the Swamp like Brucie and Little Johnny Squarepants, I hope this is the beginning of the end for the NeoCons.

Just when you think TeamBush can't possibly go any lower.

They're probably going to give Gonzo a medal if history is an indicator.

It's going to be an enojoyable experiance for me watching the Republican nominee for President in 08 run his campaign in the backdrop of the cesspool of corruption that is the Bush administration.

I think I can hear the 08 GOP nominee's theme song playing right now. "Should I stay (with W.) or should I go, now"

The Clash Posted by: John E | May 15, 2007 1:16:47 PM Geez... I mean... just... Christ. That's just disgusting. It makes me sick. These people need help. Are they totally without conscience? Posted by: david k | May 15, 2007 1:36:29 PM Whether you are a member of the looney left or wingnut right, or just a concerned citizen, we should all be fighting for the return of habeus corpus and the elimination of illegal surveillance of American citizens. This AG is not only incompetent and partisan, he does not understand the law. He is an embarrassment to all lawyers. Posted by: weinerdog43 | May 15, 2007 1:47:08 PM Shouldn't this be a news story on the front page of the Tribune's web site? It could replace the "Seinfeld Returning to Prime Time" that has been there all day. The New York Times and Washington Post are treating it as a news story, and rightly so. Posted by: Jeff Elijah | May 15, 2007 2:03:37 PM Thank you for this entry. I was wondering if the MSM was even going to report it, especially now that the rest of the week will be all "Falwell" all the time. What a travesty, possibly even impeachable. Posted by: Greg | May 15, 2007 2:05:17 PM Republicans = Moral Authority Posted by: Brian | May 15, 2007 2:11:55 PM I don't really care. What I want to know is which one of them was the better singer. John Ashcroft Sings 'Let the Eagle Soar'

Attorney General John Ashcroft sings a rousing rendition of a song he wrote called "Let The Eagles Soar." Review:

Hard to imagine how he could have lost an election to a dead guy. http://politicalhumor.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=politicalhumor&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ifilm.com%2Fifilmdetail%2F2424640 You just don't get that kinda talent on karaoke night at the local pub!!! Posted by: Logic Prisoner | May 15, 2007 2:31:37 PM Wow, these guys even get me feeling sorry for John Ashcroft. I would like to highlight for some of our Republican friends around here, who consistantly argue the perfect legality of the warrentless wiretapping program, the following part of the exchange: "SEN. SCHUMER: You thought -- just assuming -- you thought something was wrong with how it was being operated or administered or overseen? MR. COMEY: We had -- yes, we had concerns as to our ability to certify its legality, and -- which was our obligation for the program to be renewed." Even the Justice Department came to realize that the program was of questionable legality. That's what set off this whole pathetic scene.

Posted by: Tony | May 15, 2007 2:32:23 PM Neo-cons = brain dead!!! Posted by: Logic Prisoner | May 15, 2007 2:34:04 PM Why the front page "Did Gonzo try to take advantage of Ashcroft"? Isn't it obvious from your story that he did? And I agree with Jeff above. This should be front page, as it is on the NY Times site (lead story). Posted by: Greg | May 15, 2007 2:52:20 PM Jeff hit it on the nail. The Trib has become some sort of sorry trash tabloid paper in many ways. Politics are so many times void from the front pages of it. but hey, Seinfeld will save our world. Posted by: alex | May 15, 2007 3:00:33 PM Here is the oath he swore to: I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. His only out is "the best of his ability" is no where good enough. He should be impeached for subverting the Constitution. When will Congress get some guts? Posted by: Bill | May 15, 2007 3:14:14 PM This sounds more like an episode of the Sopranos than the United States Justice Department and Executive Branch. I suppose in their minds, the ends justify the means. And any means can be justified in terms of National Security. What will it take for all of us to rise up and demand accountability? Posted by: GR | May 15, 2007 3:42:44 PM brian, you misspelled its should be

REPUBLICANS = IMMORAL AUTHORITY

Posted by: rayg | May 15, 2007 3:44:48 PM brian, you misspelled its should be

REPUBLICANS = IMMORAL AUTHORITY

Posted by: rayg | May 15, 2007 3:49:24 PM Well .... there they go again. Even when you thought they can't get any lower, we find out something even more hateful and disgusting! If we're getting this much garbage while the Cheneybush regime is still IN power, what will we find starting in 2009? Maybe we should impound all documents of the Cheneybush regime right now, before they destroy any more evidence. John Ashcroft as a defender of freedom? Absurd - - except in the Bush League. When Ashcroft looks good, the alternative must be truly repugnant. Now we see it is! Let's skip impeachment of Cheneybush & their lapdog, Alberto, and lock them all up in Guantanamo for oh, say .... forever! With a daily water-boarding. Posted by: snalg | May 15, 2007 4:20:13 PM

What kind of slime bag does it take to make Ashcroft seem like a victim and a defender of freedom? Now we know. Posted by: C.Morris | May 15, 2007 4:39:46 PM Hey where are JD, John D, Bruce, Jerry White and the gang to defend the Administration on this one? Have we finally found an act so completely indefensible that they won't even try to spin it? Posted by: Tony | May 15, 2007 4:58:05 PM This is from an administration who's President promised to restore dignity to the White House? It is disgusting what these people are doing to our country. Posted by: Brian | May 15, 2007 4:58:22 PM What else would you expect from the guy who was the torture advocate for the White House? Congress should start impeachment procedings for Gonzales right now. Posted by: Tom O | May 15, 2007 5:12:30 PM Tony, my apologies for accidentally thinking you were affiliated with Bruce, John D and that bunch. My mistake for typing before thinking. There is simply no way these actions by the AG and Justice Dept. can be justified. Truly, the Mayberry Machievellians are in charge. (But not for long!) Posted by: weinerdog43 | May 15, 2007 5:59:08 PM Gonzales is an absolutely horrible man. What happened to "The buck stops here" ?? Posted by: Lary K | May 15, 2007 8:14:10 PM ....soooo did he fire all those attorney's when he got home? I 'm confused on what this has to do with your other manufactured outrage of the attorney firings. Is this all you can find on him, since the left wing "fishing" exhibition hasn't found any illegal activity from him? Are you going to parade in people to make him look bad instead? Have we heard from Card or AG on his side of the story? Wake me up when he lies under oath and/or obstructs justice.

Posted by: JD | May 15, 2007 9:40:16 PM Comments are not posted immediately. We review them first in an effort to remove foul language, commercial messages, irrelevancies and unfair attacks. Thank you for your patience.



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