The Meltdown at Justice, Continued

By Scott Horton

In proper Spanish pronunciation, the accent falls on the “a”—Gonzáles. However, in Washington today, the name is being pronounced differently. It's “Gone-zales.” However, to the great delight of the Democrats, the attorney general is making a messy, protracted exit. Conditions at the Department of Justice look ever more squalid and desperate. The consigliere's testimony has been adjourned until Thursday. Here are the essential stories of the morning cycle:

More Contradictions in Gonzales Testimony Emerge—The New York Times reviews numerous, sometimes extremely serious, contradictions between Gonzales's prepared statement and other recent comments and the statements of his closest aides, particularly of Kyle Sampson. ABC News focuses in on inconsistencies between Gonzales's statement and previously disclosed documents. Given the amount of time that went into this statement and its exceedingly bland character, these articles point to potentially important areas for questions.

Paul J. McNulty Already Out the Door?—McNulty is reportedly already busily hunting for a job at a major law firm, according to the Wall Street Journal. Maybe Regent University needs a new dean?

Immunity for Bush's Monica—The House Judiciary Committee is preparing to vote on a grant of immunity for Monica Goodling, the assistant to Attorney General Gonzales who invoked the Fifth Amendment in refusing to testify or be interviewed by Congress, and held on to her job for 10 days—another Justice Department first.

Putting Rove's U.S. Attorneys Under the Scope—The House Judiciary Committee has decided to start looking more closely into the conduct of the new political U.S. attorneys selected and installed by Karl Rove in the battleground states. First up: Minneapolis U.S. Attorney Rachel Paulose, but Politico reports at least seven more will be examined.

Contempt of Congress—The Justice Department failed to comply with the House Judiciary Committee's document production subpoena with respect to the cashiering of U.S. attorneys, triggering discussion over who at the Department of Justice would be detailed to commence criminal contempt proceedings against the Department of Justice.