US AG Gonzales: can we blame it all on him drinking from the Potomac?

To quote Joe Welch, “Have you no shame, sir?”

Everyone’s acting all shocked that U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was accused by his former deputy James Comey of stalking former AG John Ashcroft to his sick bed to force him to sign documents legalizing wiretaps.

Why the surprise? It sounds like he’s just taking a page from the GOP playbook, as established by former House speaker and presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich. The master of class visited his wife to discuss divorce terms with her when she was in hospital. (She was there for her third surgery for cancer; Ashcroft just had his gallbladder out.)

But on a more serious and local note: San Antonio native Gonzales was a Texas Supreme Court justice, Texas secretary of state, and senior advisor, chief elections office, border liaison, and general counsel to then-Gov. George Bush. Prior to that, he was a partner at Houston-based law firm Vinson & Elkins LLP, who went on to represent Enron during their collapse and bribe-taking Abramoff cohort Bob Ney.

Does anyone seriously think his career of partisan firings, strong-arm tactics, and incomplete answers to his superiors and the citizenry began when he moved to D.C.?

This article appears in May 18 • 2007.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.