AG’s Legacy Debated
Supporters of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales point to accomplishments, such as his creation of a national security division within the Justice Department and his fight against child exploitation.
Viet Dinh, who worked in the department’s Office of Legal Counsel, told Legal Times the critics are overlooking Gonzales’ successes. “As for his legacy, the ironic thing is, I think he did a pretty good job as attorney general,” he says.
But critics have attacked the Office of Legal Counsel for its endorsement of wide-ranging presidential powers and for producing legal memos that helped paved the way for use of aggressive tactics in interrogation of terrorism detainees. (See this Washington Post story for details.)
The attorney general’s many detractors have a less benign view of Gonzales. The critics say Justice has been left in disarray and its credibility damaged, the Legal Times story says.
“There is no reasonable doubt that Alberto R. Gonzales will be remembered as one of the worst attorneys general in history and perhaps the most embarrassed, and embarrassing, Cabinet officers ever,” said Daniel Metcalfe, who headed the Justice Department’s Office of Information and Privacy until his retirement in January.
