US Attorney Purge

Norm Coleman was placed in a difficult position as Alberto Gonzales' corruption, dishonesty and incompetence became more and more apparent. As a Bush Loyalist, he wanted to remain loyal to President Bush, but even Norm became unable to tolerate the cognitive dissonance emanating from the Department of Justice. The problem is Norm took a long time to reach that point, and then employed Norm-speak^TM to sound like he no longer supported Gonzales without actually not supporting him. This is a twisted and sordid tale, but it clearly illustrates how Norm deals with the cognitive dissonance between the Bush Administration's rhetoric and their behavior.

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(3/15/07) Norm has issued several statements on the ongoing firestorm concerning the Bush Administration's firing of 8 US Attorneys. WCCO reports

In a conference call with Minnesota reporters, Republican Sen. Norm Coleman said he was not satisfied with explantions about how the dismissals were handled. He stopped short of calling for Gonzales' resignation, saying "he's really got to look in the mirror and figure out if he can clean this up."

Figure what out? Clean up what? This is not a glass of spilled milk, but a conscious effort to get rid of not-conservative-enough US Attorneys. Will Norm change his mind and demand accountability in the Bush Administration? Maybe he does? It's hard to tell. Bloomberg reports:

Coleman, who faces a tough re-election campaign next year, said in an interview he had ``deep concerns'' about whether Gonzales should stay in office. "This situation has been handled abysmally," he said, because the appearance of a "political element to the firings is "disastrous."

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CNN reports Norm's latest (3/20/07) statement regarding the under-fire Attorney General Alberto Gonzales:

"I think there are issues of confidence that have to be addressed," said Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota, a moderate facing re-election in 2008.

Once again, this isn't a very clear statement. Should Abu Gonzales remain as AG? Should he resign? How does Norm propose he 'address' these 'issues of confidence'? What is he saying? This seems like another attempt to sound critical without actually taking a stand.

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(3/30/07) Norm is still just concerned about Attorney General Alberto Gonzales credibility.

“I have deep concerns about the handling of the situation,” Coleman said Thursday in a conference call with Minnesota reporters.

However, he's still not beyond being concerned.

The president has the right to hire and fire U.S. attorneys, Coleman said. “On the other hand, credibility is an issue,” he added. “The attorney general has a credibility problem, let me say that up front. He does have a right to be heard.”

A growing number of members of Congress are calling for Gonzales’ resignation, but Coleman stopped short of that.

“I think he has a problem,” he said. “He’s going to have to decide if he can fix that.”
(West Central Tribune

So ... what if Gonzales decides to fix "that"? How can Gonzales "fix" lying like a rug? How could Gonzales possibly restore the integrity of the Justice Department at this point?

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(4/12/07) After championing Rachel Paulose for the vacant US Attorney for Minnesota position, Norm Coleman has had an abrupt about-face and is now concerned about her management skills. Four of the top administrators in the MN office resigned en masse in protest of Paulose's dictatorial style and incompetent management. In Norm-speak this is about the strongest criticism possible. The only possibility of stronger language within Norm-speak would have been if he would have had deep concerns, but that type of language only appears to apply to the clear cut corruption and imcompetence of the nature that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is currently embroiled.

Its strangely ironic that a former prosecutor like Norm would not have any concerns about such an inexperienced lawyer without any management experience taking over such an important position. However, any qualms he might have had were probably assuaged by US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales close relationship with Paulose (she served as a Special Assistant to the AG). Norm after all is a Bush Loyalist and can be counted on to do the Bush Administrations bidding. Gonzales Department of Justice appears to only promote true believers like Paulose regardless of competence and Norm was fine with it then.

Read the details of Norm's support for US Atty Rachel Paulose

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(4/16/07) Norm Coleman was quoted in the Bradenton Herald (FL):

"The attorney general has serious problems," said Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn. "I support his opportunity to come before us and explain himself. I have questions about whether he's going to be able to generate the level of confidence that's needed. I have real doubts."
(Thanks Polinaut)

This is a significant change in Norm-speak. Previously, he had "deep concerns", but his comments hardly sounded critical. Now Norm admits that the AG has "serious problems." Furthermore, Norm has "real doubts."

While it would nice to would nice to have a clarification such as he has real doubts about Gonzales continuing as AG or something of that sort, real doubts about his fitness to serve, etc.

Strangely, its pretty clear what "serious problems" means. Those problems are testifying before a decidedly unfriendly Congress. Many of these Senators have called for his resignation. Furthermore, rumors abound that his prep sessions didn't go well. So "yes" Gonzo faces serious problems ... those mean men and women on that there Committee aren't going to play nice like the last Congress did. Furthermore, there is conclusive proof that he lied to Congress, he perjured himself. Yup, serious problems.

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(4/25/07) Norm made two statements about Attorney General Gonzales' Senate testimony. Norm's position is slowly evolving as more and more people call for Gonzales to resign. In term's of Norm-speak, this is a virtual condemnation ... almost.

"I think there's a huge credibility issue at the Justice Department," said Sen. Norm Coleman (Minn.). "I continue, even after his testimony, to have grave doubts."
(WashPo)

Gonzales's testimony hasn't "eased my concern about the lack of confidence in the organization and about the lack of confidence in his leadership. He is going to have to deal with that."
(Bloomberg

The interesting point is Norm somehow thinks that Gonzales is somehow going to "deal with" the ever-growing lack of confidence in his leadership. The is stronger language and the strongest Norm-speak against Gonzales, yet. Its obvious that Norm, the Bush Loyalist, is continuing to support the President despite an overwhelming amount of evidence detailing his incompetence. Its also clear that Norm isn't happy doing it because his loyal support may not play well in his upcoming 2008 reelection campaign.

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(5/17/07) Norm asked embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign today. It took a while, but ... hey ... at least he finally did the right thing. When a Bush loyalist turns on Gonzales, how much time does he really have left as AG?

Republican Senator Norm Coleman called on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign today, as two Democratic senators called for a non-binding vote of no confidence in the embattled justice department leader.

"I don't have confidence in Gonzales," Coleman said, adding, "I would hope that the attorney general understands that the department is suffering right now, and he does the right thing, and that is allows the president to provide new leadership."

As Coleman called for Gonzales to resign, Senators Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., called for the Senate to express its lack of confidence in the attorney general.
(Minnesota Monitor)

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(5/18/07) On TPT's Almanac, Norm replied to questions about US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Norm reiterated his lack of confidence in the AG and that he should resign. However, not one to ever be able to tell the whole truth all the time, Norm pulled out a tired, old Republican talking point:

"Bill Clinton fired all the US Attorneys, too."

Norm is not telling all that much of the truth (This is what we call MN Nice. Norm is lying). This is a false statement given the context in which Norm is responding to questions about the current President and current AG. All Presidents in the 2nd half of the 20th century replaced large numbers of US Attorneys at the beginning of their terms. Firing a large number of USAs in the middle of the term is unusual. Firing them to replace them with neo-con lackeys is unprecedented. Once again, Norm has to lie when it would just be easier to leave it well enough alone or tell the truth.

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(6/12/07) I missed the boat last night on getting a post up about Norm voting the right way for once. Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) voted for the nonbinding non confidence resolution in US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. But it must have hurt him. Here's what the netroots was saying:

"My vote today reflects my lack of confidence in the attorney general's continued leadership. However, I am dismayed that the Democratic leader is scheduling a politically motivated vote that accomplishes nothing."
- Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN), feeling very strongly both ways about Alberto Gonzales

What a piece of work is Norm. He couldn't just vote with the Democrats for a resolution of "no confidence" on Alberto Gonzales yesterday. He had to hedge his bet with some Republican talking point weasel words, too.

Norm Coleman, visionary and principled leader for the times, former Chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, seeker of truth in the politically motivated UN Oil For Foods Scandal Investigation couldn't just lack confidence in Gonzales. He had to go and be, "...dismayed."

Sigh.
(Peter Smith at HuffingtonPost)

Norm grudgingly did the right thing. Technically, Norm voted for a Cloture Motion to end the Republican's desire to endlessly debate this issue and bring the resolution to an actual vote. The resolution was never actually voted on. It didn't gain enough support (60 votes) to end the filibuster. The resolution was then withdrawn.

Read what other bloggers had to say about Norm's vote

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(8/28/07) Despite being a late convert who really did nothing useful to oppose Gonzales, he did issue the following press release after the AG announced his resignation. If you just read this presser alone, you wouldn't think that it took Norm a long time to publicly oppose Gonzales. You'd also wouldn't know from this press release that he'd done nothing other than vote for one failed resolution and make a few weak statements of mild disapproval.

“Attorney General Gonzales had lost the credibility needed to effectively run the Justice Department, and his resignation today will allow the country to move forward. Moreover, it will allow Congress to spend time working on the major issues before our country, rather than spending time on Congressional hearings regarding the Attorney General. It is absolutely essential to have a leader in this position that the American people can trust. Going forward, I will work with my colleagues to confirm a replacement that has the ability to not only restore the faith of the American public, but also bring transparency to the department.”
(Norm's statement on Gonzales' resignation)

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(9/13/07) Not much to say with this one. John Stewart and the writers at his show do a great job. He also has great subject matter.

(Thanks to Crooks and Liars)

Media Player version . . | . . QuickTime version

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(12/12/07) Norm played a small Yes-Man role in the whole sordid Rachel Paulose affair. Under normal circumstances, the senior senator from the party occupying the White House gets to suggest a candidate for his/her state. Upon learning that Paulose was going to be foisted upon Minnesota, Norm suggested Paulose and a friend of his. Eric Black talked to Norm about this.

Rachel Paulose, the US Attorney scandal and Norm Coleman

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