Push to oust Gonzales loses momentum

From the Financial Times courtesy of TomPaine.com:

Republican members of Congress on Thursday leapt to the defence of Alberto Gonzales, the embattled US attorney-general, as Democratic efforts to oust him appeared to lose momentum.

Mr Gonzales faced a fresh barrage of question from Democrats over the controversial firing of several US attorneys when he appeared before the House judiciary committee.

But Republican committee members largely supported Mr Gonzales and called for an end to the investigation, easing pressure on one of President George W. Bush’s closest political allies.

Democrats have sought to prove that the firings of at least eight US attorneys last year were politically motivated, citing an e-mail by a Gonzales aide that judged federal prosecutors according to whether they were “loyal Bushies”.

“The list of accusations has mushroomed, but the evidence has not,” said Lamar Smith, the senior Republican committee member. “If there are no fish in this lake, we should reel in our lines of questions, dock our empty boat and turn to more pressing issues.”

More here.

WTF?!?

This investigation has uncovered a massive sidestepping of laws mandating the preservation of all White House records, caused an important DOJ aid to take the Fifth, and revealed that Gonzales himself is either fucking stupid or was lying while under oath--how many times did he say "I don't recall"? How could the investigation possibly be losing momentum? I would say this is amazing, but I've seen it happen too many times before to be surprised; the Democrats are rolling over even though they're the majority now. That is, if the investigation really is losing momentum. It would make sense if the press was simply getting bored with the story, and deciding that it's over, you know, because it's not sexy enough now.

Either way, it's fucked up.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$