May 17, 2007 07:47 PM UTC

Specter Expects Gonzales to Resign

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• by: Colorado Pols

From The Associated Press:

The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee predicted Thursday that the probe of firings of federal prosecutors would lead to the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

The Justice Department, according to veteran Sen. Arlen Specter, can’t properly protect the nation from terrorism or oversee President Bush’s no-warrant eavesdropping program with Gonzales at the helm.

“I have a sense that when we finish our investigation, we may have the conclusion of the tenure of the attorney general,” Specter, R-Pa., said during a committee hearing. “I think when our investigation is concluded, it’ll be clear even to the attorney general and the president that we’re looking at a dysfunctional department which is vital to the national welfare.”

His comment echoed new criticism of the attorney general this week. Former deputy attorney general James Comey testified that Gonzales tried to get his predecessor as attorney general, John Ashcroft, to approve Bush’s eavesdropping program as Ashcroft lay in intensive care.

Asked twice during a news conference Thursday if he personally ordered Gonzales and then-White House chief of staff Andrew Card to Ashcroft’s hospital room, Bush refused to answer.

“There’s a lot of speculation about what happened and what didn’t happen. I’m not going to talk about it,” Bush said.

The tale inspired Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., to become the fourth Republican senator to call for Gonzales’ resignation. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., joined in the criticism.

“When you have to spend more time up here on Capitol Hill instead of running the Justice Department, maybe you ought to think about it,” Roberts told The Associated Press.