A new report from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press paints a picture of White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales -- who has been nominated to replace U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft -- as someone who has worked tirelessly to keep information from the press and public if he believes it could hurt the president, and does not appear ready to change.
"Every attorney general has a significant impact on the media's ability to gather and report news, as well as the public's right to know what its government is doing," the report states. With that in mind, the Reporters Committee staff researched Gonzales' performance both in Texas, where he was a top adviser to then-Gov. Bush before serving on the state's Supreme Court, and as White House counsel since January 2001.
"Based on what I've seen, I don't think concerns about the media enter into his thinking," said Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee. "I think he is going to be even more aggressive than Ashcroft in making sure the executive right to keep secrets is protected."
Editor & Publisher article"Every attorney general has a significant impact on the media's ability to gather and report news, as well as the public's right to know what its government is doing," the report states. With that in mind, the Reporters Committee staff researched Gonzales' performance both in Texas, where he was a top adviser to then-Gov. Bush before serving on the state's Supreme Court, and as White House counsel since January 2001.
"Based on what I've seen, I don't think concerns about the media enter into his thinking," said Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee. "I think he is going to be even more aggressive than Ashcroft in making sure the executive right to keep secrets is protected."
[...]
"Gonzales picked one battle in particular to doggedly fight: that the president and those working closely with him must be able to receive counsel from advisers without public inquiry. Gonzales argued throughout the summer of 2002 that Vice President Cheney and the records of his energy policy task force should not be subject to open-government laws."
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One interesting item the report found from Gonzales' time in Texas: "Gonzales was instrumental in getting Bush excused from jury duty in 1996 -- a move that allowed the governor to avoid having to disclose that he had been arrested for drunken driving in Maine in 1976, the Houston Chronicle reported.
See, preznittin' is hard work, and you need a guy like that watching your back.
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