[NYTr] Pressure on Bush Regime to Clarify Gonzales Testimony

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

sent by MichaelP (activ-l) - Jul 31, 2007

[I'm not goiing to get excited over this news, but it beats the news
about the Vice President's tin-man health. -M.]


The Hill - Jul 31, 2007
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/specter-administration-has-18- 
hours-to-clarify-gonzales-testimony-on-wiretapping-2007-07-30.html

Specter: Administration has 18 hours to clarify 
Gonzales testimony on wiretapping

By Elana Schor and Susan Crabtree

The Senate Judiciary Committee's ranking Republican, Arlen Specter
(Pa.), emerged from a crucial Monday briefing and gave the Bush
administration 18 hours to resolve the controversy over apparent
contradictions in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's congressional
testimony.

Gonzales took issue last week with former Deputy Attorney General James 
Comey's description of internal dissent in 2004 over the legal
authority for the National Security Agency's (NSA) warrantless
eavesdropping program. Frustrated Democrats called for a special
prosecutor to investigate Gonzales for perjury, noting that several
officials have publicly echoed Comey's account. Those calls prompted
Specter to request a classified briefing to clear up the dispute.

Specter aides released a statement late Monday that suggested a
bombshell to come on Tuesday afternoon.

"Given the difficulty of discussing classified matters in public, I
think it is preferable to have a letter addressing that question [of
Gonzales' veracity] from the administration ... by noon tomorrow, which
will be made available to the news media," Specter wrote in the
statement. "The administration has committed to producing such a
letter."

Specter expects the letter clarifying the attorney general's testimony
to be addressed to himself and Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy
(D-Vt.), who declined to comment on the matter.

Specter was equally cagey, telling reporters to wait until Tuesday for
any further comment from him.

When asked whether Gonzales should be forced to resign, Specter said
any such speculation would be "premature to consider." He said other
senators were present for the administration briefing, which was given
by Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and others, but
declined to identify them.

Tuesday's letter may hold the key to Gonzales's future. Specter has so
far refrained from joining Democrats' effort to unseat the attorney
general and held off on judging the current flap. News reports over the
weekend may have technically supported Gonzales's claim that the
internal wrangling in 2004 occurred over a separate intelligence
program, not the NSA program, but Specter offered no clue as to their
accuracy.