Department of Justice unit reviews Gonzales testimony

Department of Justice unit reviews Gonzales testimony
By Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: August 31 2007 02:02 | Last updated: August 31 2007 02:02


The justice department’s inspector-general is investigating Alberto Gonzales’ testimony before Congress on a terrorist wiretapping surveillance programme and the sacking of several US attorneys-general.

Glenn Fine, who serves as an independent watchdog at the Department of Justice, stopped short of saying he was investigating whether Mr Gonzales, who announced his resignation as US attorney-general this week, committed perjury, but he wrote in a letter to Senator Patrick Leahy that he was investigating “most of the subjects addressed by the attorney-general’s testimony” that have come under scrutiny by lawmakers.

Mr Gonzales offered accounts in sworn testimony before Congress of the Bush administration’s terrorist surveillance programme that appeared to conflict with testimony by the chief of the FBI and the former deputy attorney-general. His truthfulness has also been called into question by lawmakers following his testimony into the circumstances surrounding the firing of nine US attorneys-general.

While Mr Gonzales testified in February that neither James Comey, the former deputy attorney-general, nor other officials had concerns about the terror spying programme, other officials indicated in stark detail that there were deep disputes over the programme.

The attorney-general has since said that the disputed activities were separate from the aspects of the programme he had testified about. Mr Gonzales also testified he had not been involved in deliberations about which US attorneys should be fired, even though documents later showed he had attended a meeting in which the dismissals were approved.

Mr Fine said those issues, as well as the use of national security letters that allowed the FBI to obtain personal information, including telephone, banking, and e-mail records, were being investigated. Mr Fine found in a previous investigation that the White House had misused its authority and improperly obtained personal information about people in the US on hundreds of occasions by using the letters.

Until Thursday it was only known that Mr Fine was investigating the US attorney issue. Mr Leahy, the Democratic chairman of the judiciary committee, said the subjects under investigation had eroded the public’s trust and undermined morale within the justice system “from the top ranks to the cop on the beat”.

“The current attorney-general is leaving, but these questions remain. It is appropriate that the inspector-general will examine whether the attorney-general was honest with this and other congressional committees,” he said.