Leahy asks for DoJ probe of Gonzales

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) asked Department of Justice Inspector General Glenn Fine Thursday to review whether testimony Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has provided “was in any instances intentionally false, misleading, or inappropriate.”

{mosads}Leahy had granted Gonzales additional time following the attorney general’s last appearance before the panel to revise or clarify any statements he made. The senator said that Gonzales “has not meaningfully addressed our significant concerns.”

Leahy added that he has “identified numerous instances in which the attorney general appears to have contradicted his own previous testimony or the statements or testimony of other senior officials, or where he appears to have engaged in efforts to mislead.”

The senator specifically asks Fine not to limit his inquiry to whether Gonzales has committed criminal violations.

“Rather, I ask that you look into whether the attorney general, in the course of his testimony, engaged in any misconduct, engaged in conduct inappropriate for a Cabinet officer and the nation’s chief law enforcement officer, or violated any duty — including the duty set out in federal regulations for government officials to avoid any conduct which gives the appearance of a violation of law or of ethical standard, regardless of whether there is an actual violation of law,” Leahy stated.