Bush Ups Ante in Attorney Firing Fiasco. Will Dems Call His Bluff?

Preznit Flight Suit Fantasy has challenged Democrats in the attorney firing fiasco. He is betting that they are still the gutless wonders that cringed throughout his first term, and that they will not issue subpoenas to get the answers to this mess. Yahoo News AP wire excerpt:

WASHINGTON - A defiant President Bush warned Democrats Tuesday to accept his offer to have top aides testify about the firings of federal prosecutors only privately and not under oath or risk a constitutional showdown from which he would not back down.

Democrats' response to his proposal was swift and firm: They said they would start authorizing subpoenas as soon as Wednesday for the White House aides.

"Testimony should be on the record and under oath. That's the formula for true accountability," said Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Bush, in a late-afternoon statement at the White House, said, "We will not go along with a partisan fishing expedition aimed at honorable public servants. ... I have proposed a reasonable way to avoid an impasse."

He added that federal prosecutors work for him and it is natural to consider replacing them. "There is no indication that anybody did anything improper," the president said.

Bullshit. Bush wants the deck stacked in his favor AGAIN. This won't be a rerun of his hideous 9-11 "testimony", during which time he sat on Unka Dick Cheney's lap while never having to be placed under oath. Not this time. It's too late for "reasonable proposals".

Bush gave his embattled attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, a boost during an early morning call and ended the day with a public statement repeating it. "He's got support with me," Bush said.

The Senate, meanwhile, voted to strip Gonzales of his authority to fill U.S. attorney vacancies without Senate confirmation. Democrats contend the Justice Department and White House purged eight federal prosecutors, some of whom were leading political corruption investigations, after a change in the Patriot Act gave Gonzales the new authority.

Several Democrats, including presidential hopefuls Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barrack Obama, Joe Biden and John Edwards, have called for Gonzales' ouster or resignation. So have a handful of Republican lawmakers.

More and more voices are being heard to call for the head of AG Abu-G. I don't believe for one moment that Gonzales is safe. If the subpoenas come, there is a chance that Rove may be called to testify, and that will almost surely cost Gonzales his job. The Democrats have already taken the necessary action to make Gonzo accountable to them with regard to filling future attorney slots. But that may be a moot point, as the man seems to be living on borrowed time. Let's hope the final tick of that clock sounds sooner rather than later.

Full Story