Edwards Becomes First Prez Candidate To Call On Gonzales To Resign By Greg Sargent
Yep -- John Edwards is first out of the box. Again. A statement just out from his campaign makes him the first of the Dems to demand that Alberto Gonzales step down:
"Today's news is only the latest and most disturbing sign of the politicization of justice under President Bush. From the abuse of investigative authority under the Patriot Act to the unconstitutional imprisonment of the Guantanamo Bay detainees and illegal torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Bagram Air Force Base, this president has consistently shown contempt for the rule of law. "Attorney General Alberto Gonzales betrayed his public trust by playing politics when his job is to enforce and uphold the law. By violating that trust, he's done a great disservice to his office. If White House officials ordered this purge, he should have refused them. If they insisted, he should have resigned in protest. Attorney General Gonzales should certainly resign now."
Edwards, recall, was the first to pull out of the Fox-hosted debate. Let's face it -- the guy is making what's shaping up as a very credible bid for the "had enough, let's fight back on all fronts" wing of the Dem primary electorate.