Gonzales Quits, Bush Appoints Rove Attorney General
by Scott Ott
(2007-08-27) — Embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales submitted his letter of resignation over the weekend to President George Bush, who today announced he’ll fill the post with departing White House adviser Karl Rove.
The president said he selected Mr. Rove because “he meets the major qualification for the job by being one of the few unemployed, longterm Bush cronies available at the moment.”
Mr. Rove said he’s honored to accept the appointment to such a prestigious position, and he hopes he can “be effective at the attorney general’s main job which is to answer accusatory questions posed by Democrat lawmakers about perfectly legal activities.”
Mr. Gonzales, who has devoted the last year to fending off allegations that he fired eight political appointees for political reasons, said he’s leaving to “spend more time with family, away from the burden of a regular paycheck.”
He plans to write a tell-all memoir about his years at the justice department, tentatively entitled: “I Had No Idea.”