Salazar questions A.G.'s role; Tancredo calls for resignation

M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News

Published March 20, 2007 at midnight

Text size

More Local News

WASHINGTON — Sen. Ken Salazar today hinted he might join calls for U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign if it is proven Gonzales took actions threatening the independence of federal prosecutors.

"If the Attorney General has indeed crossed this line, then in my view he has forfeited his right to lead the Department of Justice," said Salazar, who is considered one of Gonzales' closest Democratic allies in the U.S. Senate.

Gonzales is under fire over questions about the way the Justice Department fired eight U.S. attorneys late last year

Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Littleton Republican, today said Gonzales should step down. "Alberto Gonzales has repeatedly shown that he is unwilling to enforce the law and unable to effectively manage the department," said Tancredo, "While I do not believe the dismissal of these eight political appointees warrants Mr. Gonzales' removal, his total mishandling of the affair is simply the latest in a series of leadership failures at the Justice Department."

Meanwhile, Sen. Wayne Alllard defended the attorney general, saying he saw no reason for him to resign. "Right now I don't think he has done anything wrong," Allard said. "He seems to be a guy of pretty strong reserve. I don't see any indication he'll capitulate to some members of the Senate when he hasn't done anything wrong."

Salazar's remarks came in a speech shortly after the Senate passed legislation preserving the Senate's right to confirm White House prosecutor nominations. He plans to introduce legislation that would make it a crime for anyone to put political pressure on prosecutors.

"My bill would simply make it a crime to coerce, pressure, or attempt to influence a U.S. Attorney’s decision whether to commence the investigation or prosecution of a person based on that person’s race, religion, sex, national origin, political activities, or political beliefs," he said.

Critics claim that the firings targeted U.S. attorneys who were either too tough in investigating Republicans or not aggressive enough investigating voter fraud charges involving Democrats. Gonzales has acknowledged that "mistakes were made" in the firings, but he has denied they were politically motivated

One fired U.S. attorney, Carol Lam of California, had led the corruption case against former Republican congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham last year. Administration officials questioned her commitment to immigration enforcement, and Gonzales told CBS News that Lam needed to focus on "other priorities" besides corruption cases.

Some lawmakers, including presidential contenders Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, have called for Gonzales to resign.

Shortly after taking the oath of office in 2005, Salazar stunned some fellow Democrats when he escorted Gonzales to his confirmation hearing. And, Salazar was one of only six Democrats to vote to confirm Gonzales, who had come under fire over his role in legal opinions that shaped the Bush Administration's view of torture in the war on terrorism.

One of those six Democrats, Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., already had called for Gonzales to step down, accusing him of lying about prosecutor replacements. One of the U.S. attorneys, H.E. "Bud" Cummins, was from Pryor's home state and reportedly was removed so that Timothy Griffin, a one-time aide to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, could replace him.

The Justice Department initially said that the U.S. Attorneys were replaced for performance-related reasons, but Gonzales later called that explanation "incomplete" and acknowledged that "mistakes were made" in the handling of the replacements.

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News