March 24, 2007 - It seems like it was just yesterday when Tony Snow was defending the Presidents offer to have his aides go up and be interviewed by a few members of the Congress and the Senate; but not under oath, behind closed doors, and without a transcript being made. He told the Press Corps that it did not make any difference that the White House staff would not be under oath. “It is”, he repeatedly said, “illegal to lie to Congress. If they lie they go to jail. It is as simple as that.”

It seems like it was just last week when Attorney General Albert Gonzales was telling the Press Corps and the Congress that he was not involved in the decision to fire 8 US Attorneys whose investigations of public corruption had come too close for comfort. It turns out not to have been quite true. Justice Department e-mails and memos released within the last 24 hours show that not only was the Attorney General quite involved in the process of firing the prosecutors; he had a two hour meeting with his staff on November 27, 2006 in which the process of firing them and then making new appointments was the subject matter. Like I said it was just yesterday when Tony Snow was saying, “If they lie they go to jail. It is as simple as that.”

It seems that it was just yesterday when President Bush was telling us that he had complete confidence in his old Texas friend Albert. The President was not about to ask the Attorney General to resign. That is understandable I guess. It was this President who said that if any of his staff was involved in leaking the identity of Valerie Plame that person would not be working at the White House anymore. Karl Rove is still cashing his paycheck. Albert is still going to run Justice. It is not as though he were lying about something serious – like getting oral sex from a very willing intern.

Senator Leahy has it absolutely right when he says that the President’s offer to send his staff to the hill amounts to absolutely nothing. No oath, no transcript, no public hearing means that Karl Rove would be immune from any prosecution no matter how many lies he told. Yes, it is illegal to lie to Congress but it isn’t illegal to lie to a Congressman or two. It is a misdemeanor to lie to Congress, but without a transcript there is no evidence of a lie other than the conflicting memories of one or two Congressmen. No oath means no perjury. As Senator Leahy said yesterday, “Nothing! Nothing! Nothing!”

Now let us be clear about one thing. While it might be unseemly and antithetical to good government there was nothing illegal about replacing the prosecutors. US Attorneys are appointed by the President and can be discharged whenever the President pleases. He may act for a good reason, for a bad reason, or for no reason at all. It is simply up to him. There is also nothing illegal about lying to the American People. It may be unseemly, bad politics, and antithetical to good government but it is not a crime.

It is, however a crime to lie to the United States Congress to cover up an action that is thought to be politically embarrassing. It is a lesson that official Washington seems unable to learn even as Scooter Libby awaits sentencing. Attorney General Gonzales knows the law. He sat on his home State’s highest court. If, as the documents indicate, he has purposefully lied to Congress and the American people, he must go and go quickly. Until the whole story is told in public, embarrassment to Karl Rove notwithstanding, Senator Leahy’s response to the White House invitation to join in the cover up has got to be, “Nothing Doing!”