Two more strikes against Gonzo

Well it's two to one against Gonzo.
FBI director appears to contradict Gonzales' testimony
Sorry but he didn't "appear" to contradict Gonzo, he said he's a liar.

FBI Director Robert Mueller told Congress Thursday that the confrontation between then-White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales and then-Attorney General John Ashcroft in Ashcroft's hospital room in 2004 concerned a controversial surveillance program -- an apparent contradiction of Senate testimony given Tuesday by Gonzales.

Mueller said he spoke with Ashcroft soon after Gonzales left the hospital and was told the meeting dealt with "an NSA [National Security Agency] program that has been much discussed, yes."

Mueller made the comment as he testified before the House Judiciary Committee.

In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Gonzales, now attorney general, said he had visited the ailing Ashcroft in the hospital to discuss "other intelligence activities," not the surveillance program.

Mueller also testified Thursday that he had serious reservations about the program, which allowed surveillance without warrants, at the time of the dramatic internal administration showdown and threats of top-level resignations.

Mueller did not confirm he had threatened to resign, but he twice said he supported the testimony of former Deputy Attorney General James Comey, who testified that Gonzales and former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card tried to pressure Ashcroft to reauthorize a surveillance program against terror suspects.

And Sen Pat Leahy has requested that an independent special counsel be named to investigate whether Gonzales perjured himself during Capitol Hill testimony.

"The attorney general took an oath to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Instead he tells the half truth, the partial truth and everything but the truth -- and he does it not once, not twice, but over and over and over again," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, at a news conference.

"We do not make this request lightly," the senators wrote in a letter to Clement. "We believe a special counsel is needed because it has become apparent that the attorney general has provided -- at a minimum -- half-truths and misleading statements."