Attorney General Gonzales to resign

http://rawstory.com//news/2007/Attor...sign_0827.html

David Edwards and Nick Juliano
Published: Monday August 27, 2007

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has told President Bush he will resign, the New York Times reports Monday.

Gonzales told Bush of the resignation Friday and the decision is to be officially announced later Monday, the Times reported.

Democrats and some Republicans in Congress have made increasingly vocal appeals for Gonzales's resignation over the last several months. He has been accused of misleading House and Senate committees investigating his role in a federal prosecutor firing scandal and the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program.

The Attorney General's departure is the latest high-profile resignation within the Bush administration. The president's top political adviser, Karl Rove, announced his resignation earlier this month.

Gonzales told Bush of the impending resignation in a telephone call Friday, and the decision was not announced until Gonzales met Bush for lunch at his Crawford, Texas, ranch this weekend.

Former Sen. John Edwards was the first Democratic presidential candidate to weigh in on the news of Gonzales' resignation, which broke early Monday morning.

"Better late than never," Edwards said in a prepared statement released by his campaign.

As news of Gonzales' resignation emerged, speculation centered on who would become his replacement for the remaining 17 months of President Bush's term. A top candidate is Department of Homeland Security head Michael Chertoff.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), a prominent member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Democrats would be willing to work with the White House to confirm a new attorney general.

"What we Democrats have always said is that we need somebody in this department ... who will put rule of law above all others, rule of law above any political consideration," Schumer said on CNN Monday. "... Our attitude is going to be one of cooperation."

A senior administration official told the Times that Bush has not yet selected a replacement but will not leave the position vacant long.

Gonzales's resignation is expected to be announced officially in a 10:30 a.m. news conference Monday.