Okay, the Senators put it more diplomatically in letter sent today to the Attorney General, but in essence, that’s the gist. What known-liar Gonzales said under oath conflicts with what James Comey said under oath. My money is on Comey telling the truth:

Specifically, Mr. Comey testified that you and former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card went to Mr. Ashcroft’s bedside at George Washington Hospital, where he was in intensive care, in an effort to get him to agree to certify the legality of a classified program that he and Mr. Comey, who was serving as acting Attorney General at the time, had concluded should not be so certified. Mr. Comey stated that when the Administration decided to go forward with reauthorizing this classified program without that certification, he and several other Justice Department officials, including possibly Attorney General Ashcroft himself, were ready to tender their resignations. You testified last year before both the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Judiciary Committee about this incident. On February 6, 2006, at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, you were asked whether Mr. Comey and others at the Justice Department had raised concerns about the NSA wiretapping program. You stated in response that the disagreement that occurred was not related to the wiretapping program confirmed by the President in December 2005, which was the topic of the hearing.

Huh. Imagine George Bush’s lawyer telling a lie — under oath, no less.

Bush and Gonzales never, ever thought they’d be held accountable for their lies. And, if the GOP still controlled Congress, they wouldn’t be.

Josh Marshall has video of Comey’s testimony. Not to be overlooked was Comey’s recollection that Bush himself had called Ashcroft’s hospital room to arrange the visit by Card and Gonzales. It’s worth a watch. Reading the reports about Comey’s testimony don’t do it justice.