I watched the Gonzales hearing today. I'll have more comments later, but I was not impressed with him. He added nothing new and said he didn't know or remember a lot. Senators on both sides asked some probing questions. Of course come Republicans abdicated their oversight role and asked nothing of substance (Hatch and Brownback come to mind). But I was impressed that Alfred Spector (R-PA), Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) all asked some real questions. Benjamin Cardin (D-MA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) who I don't know did a really good job as well.
Gonzales couldn't be pinned down. No one can say who put names on the list. Gonzales says he's sure nothing improper was done but doesn't say how he knows that because whenever he was asked about how things happen he said he delegated the process to his staff and trusts them. But from the testimony of the staff, they said they had no checks in the process to ensure that. Also, Gonzales' definition of improper is really more like illegal. Sheldon Whitehouse made the point that improper is broader than merely illegal.
There's no way today's testimony won anyone over. More details tomorrow.
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