Gonzo in middle of NSA spying controversy

This is a longer clip, so give it a watch when you have time.

It's the testimony of James Comey, the former deputy attorney general. It seems that when former Attorney General John Ashcroft was in the hospital for gall bladder surgery, the White House had a problem with the NSA's Terrorism Surveillance Program. It needed DOJ approval for the plan.

However, Ashcroft had temporarily turned over the responsibilities of his office to Comey while he was undergoing surgery. The White House wanted Comey to sign off on the NSA's program, and when he raised objections, then-White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales and then-White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card rushed over to the hospital where Ashcroft was convalescing and tried to get him to sign a piece of paper approving the program.

In no uncertain terms, Ashcroft refused. An enraged Card told Comey that had to report to the White House immediately, and Comey refused to appear without a witness, considering what he just witnessed. Comey also threatened to resign, but Ashcroft coaxed him out of that decision, urging Comey to wait until he was in better health so they could resign together. Reportedly, FBI Director Robert Mueller also threatened to resign.

This is a pretty amazing story, which could have turned into a modern-day Saturday Night Massacre. In some ways this revelation does resemble Nixon's colossal political miscalculation. I've already heard some conservatives say, "What does this have to do with Alberto Gonzales' behavior as attorney general?"

Really, it's another brick in the wall, and it further demonstrates Gonzo's willingness to let politics trump the law. If I were a lawyer, I'd say, "It goes to credibility," in relation to the U.S. Attorney Firing Scandal.

However, the attorney general still has the "full support" of the president.

Pathetic.