Democrats call for 'no confidence' vote on Gonzales Nick Juliano

Published: Thursday May 17, 2007 Print This Email This Two Democratic senators leading an investigation into whether Alberto Gonzales was involved in firing eight US Attorneys for political motives are calling for a vote of "no confidence" in the embattled Attorney General. Sens. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) plan to introduce a nonbinding resolution expressing the sense that the Senate has lost confidence in Gonzales's ability to run the Justice Department. Though the measure would not directly impact Gonzales's ability to keep his job, it would force Republicans to go on record with their support of the attorney general. The announcement of the no-confidence measure, which was first reported by Roll Call, comes as Gonzales finds himself under a growing avalanche of criticism. Five Republican senators -- joined today by Sen. Norm Coleman -- already have called for his resignation, and experts say his close, personal friendship with President Bush is the only reason he still has a job. "It seems the only person who has confidence in the attorney general is President Bush," Schumer told reporters, according to the Associated Press. "The president long ago should have asked the attorney general to step down." Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said during a committee hearing Thursday that he didn't think Gonzales's would be able to keep his job through the US Attorney scandal. Congressional investigations and press reports continue to expose inconsistencies in his accounts of firing the eight prosecutors. The attorney general has maintained that only the eight were considered for dismissal, but the Washington Post reported today that the number of prosecutors facing the chopping block was three times that high.



