Nomination of Alberto Gonzales

3 January 2005

I oppose the confirmation of White House Counsel Alberto R. Gonzales to be our next Attorney General because he was instrumental in creating the environment that contributed to the horrible abuses that occurred at Guantanamo Bay and in Abu Ghraib Prison.

His role in this makes him unfit for the post. I am very disgusted, as I know you were by these unspeakable crimes. It wan't bad enough that Mr Gonzales wrote the memos that led to these violations of US and international law, but then he calls the Geneva Convention "obsolete" and a "nicety." You said yourself that the Geneva Convention is "not a nicety; it's the law."

At a time when we need an individual with unquestionable commitment to enforcing these laws President Bush has nominated Mr. Gonzales. However, a rule of law nation should never place in its top law enforcement position an individual who rendered the advice that Mr. Gonzales did to the president regarding the Geneva Convention. Gonzales' advice, at worst led directly to the abuses and at least created the environment for these violations to occur.

I also understand that in these dangerous times we need an Attorney General, but not at the cost of living by the letter and spirit of the law. I have heard you say that you love the law, you can best show that by not allowing Mr. Gonzales's nomination to pass out of committee. I strongly urge you to place a hold on his nomination until we can sort out all the details surrounding these memos. I feel the memos need to be dealt with outside the venue of a confirmation hearing because there are two committees, both of which you are a member, with oversight authority on this issue. We should not rush to confirm Mr. Gonzales because if we find something later that would cause a problem we cannot remove him. And letting it go to a floor vote will incur a major contest and much nastiness. This country does not need that now.

You have also spoken about the "advise and consent" clause in the Constitution as it relates to judicial nominations and filibusters. I believe that the Democrats may try to filibuster Mr. Gonzales and cause a need to file a cloture motion thus requiring 60 votes, which is not possible. It will be nasty on the floor and only serve to divide this country more.

I think that the president should have discussed this nomination more with the Senators in order to prevent the problems that I believe will occur. I don't believe he did consult with you that much. If he had I would hope he would have reconsidered submitting Mr. Gonzales's name based on the information that was out there at the time. More information has been made available over the holidays including a new memo released on New Year's Day redefining torture. It is a step in the right direction, but why not release it after the holiday when it would have been top news instead of burrying it amongst the news on New Year's Day when no one is paying attention. I would have wanted top billing for this correction because of the controversy surrounding the nomination. However, they chose to bury the correction making me wonder if they really meant to change anything. This should have been a public apology and admission of what happened.

In closure, I ask you to please consider placing a hold on Mr. Gonzales's nomination just until we sort out the details surrounding those memos, the environment and the abuses. Please stand up and say no to these violations of the Geneva Convention and those who have propagated policies which caused these injustices. Keep our country a rule of law nation. Do not allow those who call the Geneva Convention "obsolete" or a "nicety" to serve in the top law enforcement post. It sends the wrong message.