Gonzalez Lied in Confirmation Hearings

Bush's wiretaps of American citizens without warrants are a violation of Federal Law, and yet in response to questions about Presidential "Commander in Chief Authority" Gonzalez specifically said the Administration had not authorized any actions against Federal Law.

During his confirmation hearings for Attorney General in January 2005, Sen. Russ Feingold asked Gonzales about this precise issue:

SEN. FEINGOLD: I — Judge Gonzales, let me ask a broader question. I’m asking you whether in general the president has the constitutional authority, does he at least in theory have the authority to authorize violations of the criminal law under duly enacted statutes simply because he’s commander in chief? Does he — does he have that power?

After trying to dodge the question for a time, Gonzales issued this denial:

MR. GONZALES: Senator, this president is not — I — it is not the policy or the agenda of this president to authorize actions that would be in contravention of our criminal statutes.