FBI director contradicts Gonzales' testimony

It is just amazing at how Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has completely lied to Congress in his testimony on the domestic spying program. This is the latest story off CNN.Com:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- FBI Director Robert Mueller told Congress Thursday that the confrontation between then-White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales and then-Attorney General John Ashcroft in Ashcroft's hospital room in 2004 concerned a controversial surveillance program -- an apparent contradiction of Senate testimony given Tuesday by Gonzales.

Mueller said he spoke with Ashcroft soon after Gonzales left the hospital and was told the meeting dealt with "an NSA [National Security Agency] program that has been much discussed, yes."

Mueller made the comment as he testified before the House Judiciary Committee.

In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Gonzales, now attorney general, said he had visited the ailing Ashcroft in the hospital to discuss "other intelligence activities," not the surveillance program.

Mueller also testified Thursday that he had serious reservations about the program, which allowed surveillance without warrants, at the time of the dramatic internal administration showdown and threats of top-level resignations.

Mueller did not confirm he had threatened to resign, but he twice said he supported the testimony of former Deputy Attorney General James Comey, who testified that Gonzales and former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card tried to pressure Ashcroft to reauthorize a surveillance program against terror suspects.

Mueller for the first time publicly confirmed he dispatched -- as Comey testified -- an FBI security detail to Ashcroft's hospital room to ensure that Comey was not removed from the room when Gonzales was there.

Earlier Thursday, four Democratic senators called for an independent special counsel to investigate whether Gonzales perjured himself during Capitol Hill testimony.

Both Mueller and Comey testified that Gonzales and Card tried to pressure Ashcroft into authorizing the domestic spying program. But Gonzales is claiming that he visited Ashcroft at the hospital for "other intelligence activities...." If Gonzales is telling the truth here, then why is Mueller and Comey lying to Congress? That doesn't make any sense. Of course, it makes sense for Gonzales to lie to Congress about his hospital visit to Ashcroft in order to protect the Bush administration from pressuring Ashcroft to approve their illegal domestic spying program.

Keith Olbermann has got a nice round-up of Gonzo-gate in his July 24, 2007 Countdown program. From YouTube: