Gonzales Saga Update: McCain Tells Him to Resign

The news continues to be grim for the embattled Attorney General.  Bob Novak launched this little torpedo:

While the current clich+¬ is that Bush never should have named Gonzales as attorney general in the first place, the consensus in the administration was that he was already at sea in his first post as White House counsel. Colin Powell, Bush's first-term secretary of State, was so appalled by Gonzales that he would shunt him off to Deputy Secretary Richard Armitage, who in turn handed him down to lower levels along the State Department chain of command.

Specter and Leahy sent Al this missive:

Today, Senate Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy (D-VT) and ranking member Arlen Specter (R-PA) wrote to Alberto Gonzales asking him to "promptly supplement your testimony of April 19 with answers to those questions for which you responded that you could not recall or did not know.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) in a letter Wednesday called on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to disclose by Friday all contacts between the office of Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.), the Justice Department and the White House related to his department's probe of the lawmaker.

Schumer sent the letter after the Associated Press reported that just weeks before the November 2006 midterm elections, Renzi's then-chief of staff called former U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton's office to discuss media reports of a pending indictment related to Renzi's role in a 2005 land deal.

Schumer is also interested in hearing from Sara Taylor, former head of the White House office of political affairs; a subpoena has just been authorized:

Schumer added that Taylor "was in the thick of the White House's political operations and may have critical information about whether U.S. attorneys were fired for improper political reasons and what role the White House played in the decisions."

The committee has already authorized a subpoena for top presidential aide Karl Rove but has not issued it.

The committee contacted Taylor two weeks ago but she has not responded, according to Specter.

The latest quotes from Republicans:

"I don't think the attorney general has served the country or the president particularly well," Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told the Washington Post Tuesday. "I think there is a huge credibility issue at the Justice Department," added Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn), "I continue, even after his (Alberto R. Gonzales') testimony, to have grave doubts." Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) added a temporal component to his concerns. "I think the attorney general is on a tightrope and he and the president need to make a decision before very long," he said.

Senator Bunning (R-KY) was not encouraging:

U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning said today that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' congressional testimony about the firings of federal prosecutors was "kind of weak" and questioned whether the embattled attorney general will keep his job.

"I don't know how long Alberto Gonzales can survive as attorney general," Bunning, R-Ky., said in a teleconference with Kentucky reporters. "I am watching with care to see."  Bunning said his past dealings with Gonzales have been "very good and very solid."  But when asked if he still has confidence in him, the senator replied, "Let's put it this way, I've seen stronger" attorneys general.

George Voinovich (R-OH): 

"I guess if I were in the president's position, I'd make the decision perhaps we need new leadership in the attorney general's office," Voinovich told a Cleveland television station Friday.

As for the Democrats, U.S. News & World Report says:

Arkansas Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor, in a face-to-face meeting with Alberto Gonzales, directly told the embattled attorney general to resign, his communications director said today.

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McCain Tells Gonzo to Go (PM - 4/26/2007 9:23:18 AM)

http://www.politico....

The senator disclosed his view as his Straight Talk Express luxury bus rumbled away from the second stop on his announcement tour, a rally held in the pouring rain in a park in New Hampshire's largest city.

"Out of loyalty to the president, he should obviously step down," McCain said. "He's not serving the president well. I reached that conclusion a long time ago. I just haven't been asked."