Even WaPo Editorial Slams Gonzales

The Washington Post editorial states: Once again, new information raises questions about statements by the attorney general. (…) Why did it take an IG's report and the span of two years before the attorney general became aware of the breadth and depth of violations that he ultimately deemed "a failure" of law enforcement "to do our jobs"? The Patriot Act greatly expanded the authorized use of national security letters, which the FBI can use to obtain information without a judge's warrant. The administration promised to keep a tight watch on the program to guard against abuses of the privacy of innocent citizens. Presented with evidence of such abuse, Mr. Gonzales either read the reports, dismissed them as irrelevant or inconsequential, and failed to share them with lawmakers; or he failed to read them and showed an alarming degree of disengagement in overseeing the use of one of the administration's most potent -- and potentially invasive -- tools against terrorism.