The Hospital Room Showdown: Former Deputy A.G. James Comey tells tale.
Source: Salon
COMEY: David Ayers. That he had gotten a call from Mrs. Ashcroft from the hospital. She had banned all visitors and all phone calls. So I hadn't seen him or talked to him because he was very ill. And Mrs. Ashcroft reported that a call had come through, and that as a result of that call Mr. Card and Mr. Gonzales were on their way to the hospital to see Mr. Ashcroft.
So I hung up the phone, immediately called my chief of staff, told him to get as many of my people as possible to the hospital immediately. I hung up, called Director Mueller and -- with whom I'd been discussing this particular matter and had been a great help to me over that week -- and told him what was happening. He said, "I'll meet you at the hospital right now."
Told my security detail that I needed to get to George Washington Hospital immediately. They turned on the emergency equipment and drove very quickly to the hospital. I got out of the car and ran up -- literally ran up the stairs with my security detail.
COMEY: I was concerned that, given how ill I knew the attorney general was, that there might be an effort to ask him to overrule me when he was in no condition to do that.
LinkHere
Everyone Must Read!! Article Shows * Attempts to Circumvent Law!!
Ashrcroft and Coomey had reviewed and decided that the wiretapping provision * wanted was not legal -it was ILLEGAL - and the AG was not going to sign off on it. One week later, when Ashcroft was in Intensive Care, Gonzales and Card tried to pull a fast one and events began unfolding as explained ined in the article:
And it was only a matter of minutes that the door opened and in walked Mr. Gonzales, carrying an envelope, and Mr. Card. They came over and stood by the bed. They greeted the attorney general very briefly. And then Mr. Gonzales began to discuss why they were there -- to seek his approval for a matter, and explained what the matter was -- which I will not do.
And Attorney General Ashcroft then stunned me. He lifted his head off the pillow and in very strong terms expressed his view of the matter, rich in both substance and fact, which stunned me -- drawn from the hour-long meeting we'd had a week earlier -- and in very strong terms expressed himself, and then laid his head back down on the pillow, seemed spent, and said to them, "But that doesn't matter, because I'm not the attorney general."
The article goes on at great length to describe the circus events as they unfolded throughout the evening and next day; Comey continued to refuse to sign off, and * ultimately decided to authorize the program anyway, ie; yest another act in a long list fo criminal actions by the * maladministration:
COMEY: The program was reauthorized without us and without a signature from the Department of Justice attesting as to its legality. And I prepared a letter of resignation, intending to resign the next day, Friday, March the 12th.
Responding to questions by Senator Chuck Schumer, former Deputy Attorney General Comey said Justice Department officials had concerns about the legality of the warrantless wiretapping and that the DOJ had refused to certify the practice even when White House officials attempted to coerce John Ashcroft in his hospital room. Members of the committee have stated that comments in Comey's testimony were shocking.
COMEY: David Ayers. That he had gotten a call from Mrs. Ashcroft from the hospital. She had banned all visitors and all phone calls. So I hadn't seen him or talked to him because he was very ill. And Mrs. Ashcroft reported that a call had come through, and that as a result of that call Mr. Card and Mr. Gonzales were on their way to the hospital to see Mr. Ashcroft.
So I hung up the phone, immediately called my chief of staff, told him to get as many of my people as possible to the hospital immediately. I hung up, called Director Mueller and -- with whom I'd been discussing this particular matter and had been a great help to me over that week -- and told him what was happening. He said, "I'll meet you at the hospital right now."
Told my security detail that I needed to get to George Washington Hospital immediately. They turned on the emergency equipment and drove very quickly to the hospital. I got out of the car and ran up -- literally ran up the stairs with my security detail.
COMEY: I was concerned that, given how ill I knew the attorney general was, that there might be an effort to ask him to overrule me when he was in no condition to do that.
LinkHere
Everyone Must Read!! Article Shows * Attempts to Circumvent Law!!
Ashrcroft and Coomey had reviewed and decided that the wiretapping provision * wanted was not legal -it was ILLEGAL - and the AG was not going to sign off on it. One week later, when Ashcroft was in Intensive Care, Gonzales and Card tried to pull a fast one and events began unfolding as explained ined in the article:
And Attorney General Ashcroft then stunned me. He lifted his head off the pillow and in very strong terms expressed his view of the matter, rich in both substance and fact, which stunned me -- drawn from the hour-long meeting we'd had a week earlier -- and in very strong terms expressed himself, and then laid his head back down on the pillow, seemed spent, and said to them, "But that doesn't matter, because I'm not the attorney general."
Responding to questions by Senator Chuck Schumer, former Deputy Attorney General Comey said Justice Department officials had concerns about the legality of the warrantless wiretapping and that the DOJ had refused to certify the practice even when White House officials attempted to coerce John Ashcroft in his hospital room. Members of the committee have stated that comments in Comey's testimony were shocking.
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 6:14 PM
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