{"id":2154,"date":"2007-08-27T10:32:00","date_gmt":"2007-08-27T16:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/08\/domenici-says-gonzales-resignation-was-inevitable\/"},"modified":"2007-08-27T10:32:00","modified_gmt":"2007-08-27T16:32:00","slug":"domenici-says-gonzales-resignation-was-inevitable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/08\/domenici-says-gonzales-resignation-was-inevitable\/","title":{"rendered":"Domenici says Gonzales’ resignation was ‘inevitable’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici<\/a>, whose popularity has taken a dip in recent months because of his role in the U.S.<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place> attorney scandal, released a statement today calling Attorney General Alberto Gonzales\u2019<\/a> resignation \u201cinevitable.\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cHis situation was a distraction to the Department of Justice and its attempt to carry out its important duties,\u201d the GOP senator said. \u201cI look forward to reviewing the president\u2019s nominee for attorney general carefully and objectively.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Both Domenici and U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson<\/a>, R-N.M., are subjects of preliminary inquiries that cold turn into full investigations because of their involvement in the U.S.<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> attorney scandal. Both called former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias<\/a> in October to inquire about a public corruption investigation that was rumored at the time to involve high-ranking Democrats and, earlier this year, led to the indictment of former Senate President Manny Aragon. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Iglesias claims he refused pressure from the two to speed indictments in time to sway voters in November, when Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> was up for re-election and in a tough contest. Two months later, he was fired without being given reason. Both admit the calls but say they didn\u2019t pressure Iglesias.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Domenici\u2019s popularity since the scandal broke has fallen in monthly SurveyUSA polls<\/a> to as low as 51 percent. Prior to the scandal, it had never been below 60 percent. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s office hasn\u2019t yet responded to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman<\/a>, D-N.M., said in a statement that he didn\u2019t support Gonzales\u2019 nomination to become attorney general \u201cbecause I thought it would be difficult for him to provide the strong, independent voice an attorney general should, and unfortunately my concerns have been borne out.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Before becoming attorney general, Gonzales was the White House\u2019s chief counsel.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is my greatest hope that whoever the president nominates to replace him will restore the American people\u2019s confidence in the ability of the office of the attorney general to provide impartial, non-political administration of justice,\u201d Bingaman said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce<\/a>, R-N.M., said the congressman would have no comment. A spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. Tom Udall<\/a>, D-N.M., said a statement will be released soon.<\/p>\n

\n

Update, 11:10 a.m.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Udall, who was a cosponsor of a House resolution calling for an investigation into whether Gonzales should be impeached, released this statement:<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cAs attorney general, Alberto Gonzales is bound by an extraordinary duty to seek justice in accordance with our Constitution and on behalf of the American people \u2013 a noble duty superseding any obligation of loyalty to party or administration. Over the last few months it became obvious to all that Alberto Gonzales was incapable of fulfilling this duty, and his conduct cast serious doubts on his willingness to protect the basic inherent guarantees and freedoms of every citizen,\u201d Udall said. \u201cAlthough he has now resigned, serious questions remain over Gonzales\u2019 tenure at the Department of Justice and I believe Congress still has an obligation to determine the legality of Attorney General Gonzales\u2019 confusing, conflicting and misleading actions and statements.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Update, 11:25 a.m.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>\u2019s office said the congresswoman had no comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, whose popularity has taken a dip in recent months because of his role in the U.S. attorney scandal, released a statement today calling Attorney General Alberto Gonzales\u2019 resignation \u201cinevitable.\u201d \u201cHis situation was a distraction to the Department of Justice and its attempt to carry out its important duties,\u201d the GOP senator […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2154\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}