Alberto Gonzales Testifies to Congress, Can't Remember Much

When Alberto Gonzales began testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning, expectations for the truth were low. The embattled attorney general did not disappoint. Gonzales couldn't seem to remember anything. In summing up the testimony after the hearing by saying "I cannot think of any time I have been more concerned, and more concerned for the system of criminal justice in this country." Indeed, many Americans feel the same way.

One might expect that the top law enforcement official for the United States might have a better memory. He has been virtually absent from the public arena for the past couple of weeks, having been hidden away to "practice" his testimony. He faced tough questions not only from Democrats but from some Republicans too. He did call the controversial firings of eight U.S. attorneys as "flawed" but went on to say that there was "nothing improper" in what happened. He also denied knowledge of meetings to discuss the firings.

"I have searched my memory" Gonzales said, responding to a question from Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) about one such meeting in November of 2006. He continued "I have no recollection of the meeting....I don't remember the contents of this meeting."

The grilling continued throughout the day, with one Senator after another asking strong questions that were met with denials of memory. The Senators and the public were skeptical. At one point, people in the gallery chanted "fire the liar!" as the hearing adjourned, some sang "nah, nah, nah, nah-nah-nah, hey hey, goodbye." One person held up a particularly illuminating running count of how many times (74) Gonzales said "I can't recall." It seems obvious to almost everyone-except maybe Gonzales and Mr. Bush-that the service of Alberto Gonzales as attorney general is about to come to an end.