Bush calls Gonzales no-confidence vote 'political theater'POSTED: 4:16 p.m. EDT, May 21, 2007
Story Highlights• President Bush Monday said that Attorney General Gonzales has his support
• The president says the Gonzales "has done nothing wrong"
• Democrats planning a symbolic no-confidence vote in the Senate
• Republican Sen. Arlen Specter speculated that Gonzales would resign before vote
Adjust font size:
CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) -- President Bush insisted on Monday that embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales still has his support and denounced Democratic plans for a no-confidence vote as "pure political theater."
"He has done nothing wrong," Bush said in an impassioned defense of his longtime friend and adviser during a news conference at his Texas ranch.
Despite Bush's comments, support for Gonzales is eroding, even in the president's own party. The Senate is prepared to hold a no-confidence vote, possibly by week's end, and five Republican senators have joined many Democrats in calling for Gonzales' resignation.
The attorney general is under investigation by Congress in last year's firing of eight federal prosecutors.
The president told the Democrats to get back to more pressing matters.
"I stand by Al Gonzales, and I would hope that people would be more sober in how they address these important issues," Bush said. "And they ought to get the job done of passing legislation, as opposed to figuring out how to be actors on the political theater stage."
Still, Bush did not directly answer a question about whether he intended to keep Gonzales in office through the end of his presidency regardless of what the Senate does.
Gonzales does not necessarily need Congress' support to continue serving. But Bush and Gonzales are under increasing pressure as more lawmakers demand the attorney general's departure.
. . .
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/05/21/bush.gonzales.ap/index.html