Albertcito's got a really good explanation for his perjurious testimony before the Congressional judiciary committees. ... Really...
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- With potential perjury accusations hanging over him, embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales sent a letter to Senate leaders Wednesday acknowledging he "may have created confusion" in his previous testimony.
But he said he did not mean to mislead senators and was "determined to address any such impression."
In a two-page letter to Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Gonzales defended his testimony while conceding he was not clear when he described highly classified National Security Agency surveillance activities.
"I am deeply concerned with suggestions that my testimony was misleading, and am determined to address any such impression," Gonzales told Leahy.
"I recognize that the use of the term 'Terrorist Surveillance Program' and my shorthand reference to the 'program' publicly 'described by the President' may have created confusion, particularly for those who are knowledgeable about the NSA activities authorized in the presidential order described by the DNI [director of national intelligence], and who may be accustomed to thinking of them or referring to them together as a single NSA 'program,' " Gonzales wrote.
The distinction of whether there was only one program or whether "other intelligence activities" constituted a separate program from the confirmed Terrorist Surveillance Program is critical.
Gonzales had insisted under oath that there was no dissent within the administration over the president's program.
Later, Gonzales' former deputy, James Comey, and FBI Director Robert Mueller testified there was intense debate within the administration.
Gonzales testified there was no dissent over the no-warrant eavesdropping program acknowledged by President Bush in December 2005. Gonzales said that dissent erupted over "other intelligence activities."
He would not discuss what he meant by "other."... Oh really? Hm... maybe by "other," he meant the ones he's willing to go to jail for.
Labels: terror surveillance program |
