Redstate

By robboyce Posted in Democrats — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

The Salem witch trials had more evidence of wrongdoing than the Democrats seem to have on Gonzales.

Now I am not a lawyer but I've taunted them on occasion. There are a couple of things I do seem to recall about testimony.

First, a first person account of a meeting cannot be effectively refuted by hearsay.

Second, when two people have differing recollections of a conversation between only the two people and witnessed by no one else and no other evidence exists - he said she said - all such testimony is worthless.

In his own sworn testimony Thursday, Mueller contradicted Gonzales, saying under questioning that the terrorist surveillance program, or TSP, was the topic of the hospital room dispute between top Bush administration officials.

Mueller was not in the hospital room at the time of the March 10, 2004, confrontation between Ashcroft and presidential advisers Andy Card and Gonzales, who was then serving as White House counsel. Mueller told the House Judiciary Committee he arrived shortly after they left, and then spoke with the ailing Ashcroft.

In this case it matters not one wit what Mueller says - he was not there. The testimony of Gonzales cannot be refuted by Mueller, only Card or Ashcroft could testify about what happened in that room.

"Did you have an understanding that the discussion was on TSP?" asked Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, in a round of questioning that may have sounded to listeners like bureaucratic alphabet soup.

"I had an understanding the discussion was on a NSA program, yes," Mueller answered.

Jackson Lee sought to clarify: "We use 'TSP,' we use 'warrantless wiretapping,' so would I be comfortable in saying that those were the items that were part of the discussion?"

"The discussion was on a national NSA program that has been much discussed, yes," Mueller responded...In a statement late Thursday, Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse maintained Gonzales was referring during his testimony to a separate intelligence operation that has not yet been revealed.

Now this is even more interesting, Mueller says that he understands they spoke about an NSA program. Asked to clarify he repeats it was a national NSA program. He apparently did not say that it was the TSP program, only that it was an NSA secret program.

So even if any credence is to be given to his hearsay testimony, he seems not to have actually contradicted Gonzales.

They included the attorney general's sworn testimony that he had not spoken about the firings with other witnesses because the matter was under investigation.

His former White House liaison, Monica Goodling, testified under a grant of immunity that Gonzales had privately recounted his recollections of the firings and asked for her opinion on his version.

Here is the he said she said.Gonzales said he did not talk to anyone, Goodling says he did. Without any other evidence - this is a moot point - goes no where.

RobBoyce