Gonzales: Comments Supporting AG on Interrogation Probe Were Misconstrued

Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says the media has misconstrued his recent comments that appeared to endorse a Justice Department probe of interrogation abuses.

On Monday, Gonzales told the Washington Times in a radio interview that Attorney General Eric Holder is asking legitimate questions in the probe into abuses of terrorism suspects. "We worked very hard to establish ground rules and parameters about how to deal with terrorists," he said in the earlier interview. "And if people go beyond that, I think it is legitimate to question and examine that conduct to ensure people are held accountable for their actions, even if it's action in prosecuting the war on terror."

But on Thursday, Gonzales told the Washington Times that he endorsed Holder’s right to conduct the probe, but not the investigation itself. Gonzales said he doesn’t support the investigation because he believes it will harm the nation’s intelligence-gathering capabilities.

"It's an endorsement of his right to exercise his discretion," Gonzales told the publication. "I'm just saying I would have exercised my discretion in a different manner, given the information I have."

The Reuters Front Row Washington blog reacted to the news this way: “Say what? Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales threw folks for another loop on Thursday by saying he doesn’t really support further investigation of CIA prisoner abuses after all. …

“Sounds like someone got the talking points memo between interviews.”