WASHINGTON - A top aide to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales abruptly quit Friday, almost two weeks after telling Congress she would not testify about her role in the firings of federal prosecutors.
There was no immediate reason given, but Monica M. Goodling’s refusal to face Congress had intensified a controversy that threatens Gonzales’ job.
She resigned in a three-sentence letter to Gonzales, calling her five-year stint at Justice an honor and telling him, “May God bless you richly as you continue your service to America.”
Asserting her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, Goodling had rejected demands for a private interview with a House committee investigating the firings of eight U.S. attorneys.
She was senior counsel to Gonzales and was the department’s White House liaison before she took a leave amid the uproar over the ousters.
The Justice Department declined comment on the resignation.
Goodling is at the center of the controversy because, as the bridge between the Justice Department and the White House, she may be best suited to explain how deeply Karl Rove and other members of President Bush’s political team might have been involved in the firings. Congress also wants her to testify on Gonzales’ role in light of his shifting explanations.
Her resignation came less than two weeks before Gonzales’ own planned testimony to Congress, which may determine his fate as attorney general. Several Republican lawmakers have joined Democrats in calling for his resignation or dismissal over the firings and other matters at Justice.
Goodling’s attorney, John Dowd, confirmed she had resigned but declined further comment.
I'm not sure if Goodling has become another scapegoat in protecting Gonzales and the Bush administration from further political damage in this attorney scandal. Or is Goodling leaving the Justice Department as a means to avoid even becoming more embroiled into this scandal than she already is?
CBS News has some more interesting information regarding Goodling:
Goodling, 33, is a graduate of Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach, Va., which was founded by the Rev. Pat Robertson. CBS News correspondent Howard Arenstein reports that, in a scandal which has been about filling legal positions with so-called "loyal Bushies," she has been described as one of the enforcers of that loyalty.
While Goodling is no longer a federal employee, her change in professional status will likely not change her status in the investigation; she still can and probably will continue to invoke her right to remain silent, at least for now, CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen said.
"The question everyone will be asking this weekend is whether this career move by Goodling means that she intends to take a different strategy when it comes to the Congressional investigation into the firing of those eight U.S. Attorneys," Cohen said. "My guess is that she won't — that her lawyers already have convinced her that, whether she is a government employee or a private individual, she still can better protect herself by refusing to answer questions before Congress."
So Goodling was a graduate of a law school founded by Pat Robertson, and that she is considered a "loyal Bushie." It is possible that Goodling is trying to protect both herself and the Bush administration through her invocation of the Fifth Amendment rights in refusing to testify before Congress. Now that Goodling is out of DOJ, I wonder if Congress will grant Goodling immunity from prosecution in exchange for her testimony. And if Congress does grant Goodling immunity from prosecution, will Goodling agree to testify?
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