Alberto Gonzales outed again as a liar

July 10, 2007

Washington, DC - Lying to Congress is a crime, yet in a report by The Washington Post, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales assured Congress in 2005 that the FBI had not abused powers granted under an anti-terrorism law despite having received reports of potential violations.

Internal FBI documents indicate that in the three months before he sought to renew the USA Patriot Act, Gonzales received at least half dozen reports of legal or procedural violations, including one six days before his Senate testimony, the Post said.

The Washington Post report cites documents -- obtained under the Freedom of Information Act -- that reportedly show Gonzales received material from the FBI showing bureau wrongdoing prior to his testimony before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.

The Washington Post report:

"As he sought to renew the USA Patriot Act two years ago, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales assured lawmakers that the FBI had not abused its potent new terrorism-fighting powers. "There has not been one verified case of civil liberties abuse," Gonzales told senators on April 27, 2005."

"Six days earlier, the FBI sent Gonzales a copy of a report that said its agents had obtained personal information that they were not entitled to have. It was one of at least half a dozen reports of legal or procedural violations that Gonzales received in the three months before he made his statement to the Senate intelligence committee, according to internal FBI documents released under the Freedom of Information Act."

Justice Department officials Tuesday were preparing a formal response to the assertion, but sources who asked not to be identified in advance of the response strongly rejected the report.

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