IN THE nation’s capital last week, it would have been possible to track Attorney General Alberto Gonzales by following the trail of blood in the snow.
For all the president’s protestations of support, it is clear that Gonzales is on his way out. Gonzales, one of the most loyal of “loyal Bushies” — to borrow a phrase from a Department of Justice document concerning who should fill the ranks of federal prosecutors — can be expected to fall on his sword rather than lead investigators back to his bosses.
A year ago, with a friendly, somnolent Congress, Gonzales would have survived. Friendly Republicans would have blocked an investigation into the firing of lawyers unwilling to limit their prosecutions to Democrats. The attorney general’s carefully worded denials of knowledge would have been treated as gospel.
No more. The Democrats may have started the investigation into Justice Department highjinks, but the information they uncovered was enough to make some Republicans begin to question the attorney general’s actions. With every day that passes, Gonzales has fewer friends on Capitol Hill. Eventually, he will not have enough to matter.
At that point, Gonzales will have the choice between honesty and loyalty.
He will choose loyalty and he will resign.