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...Comey described what happened next: "The door opened and in walked Mr. Gonzales, carrying an envelope, and Mr. Card. They came over and stood by the bed. They greeted the Attorney General very briefly. And then Mr. Gonzales began to discuss why they were there - to seek his approval for a matter, and explained what the matter was - which I will not do." Ashcroft bluntly rebuffed Gonzales, but Comey's unwillingness publicly to say what Gonzales said in the hospital room has raised questions about whether Gonzales may have violated executive branch rules regarding the handling of highly classified information...
...Executive branch rules require sensitive classified information to be discussed in specialized facilities that are designed to guard against the possibility that officials are being targeted for surveillance outside of the workplace," says Georgetown Law Professor Neal Katyal, who was National Security Advisor to the Deputy Attorney General under Bill Clinton. "The hospital room of a cabinet official is exactly the type of target ripe for surveillance by a foreign power," Katyal says. This particular information could have been highly sensitive. Says one government official familiar with the Terrorist Surveillance Program: "Since it's that program, it may involve cryptographic...
...investigator says the Judiciary Committee is weighing whether to investigate the matter formally. One consideration will be whether the Justice Department itself decides it should be investigated. Gonzales, as head of the department, would be conflicted in the matter. "The fact that you have a potential case against the Attorney General himself calls for the most scrupulous and independent of investigations," says Georgetown's Katyal...
...John Martin, who for 26 years oversaw the Justice Department's counterintelligence division, says he's less worried about the possible divulgence of classified information than he is about Gonzales' and Card's attempt to override Comey, who was acting Attorney General at the time. "That's part of the bad judgment," Martin says of the potential disclosure, but more troubling is that "horrible judgment was demonstrated on the part of Gonzales and Card because they both knew or should have known that the Attorney General while he was so incapacitated had delegated his power to his deputy Jim Comey...
...Whatever was discussed in that hospital room, one thing is clear - Comey's disclosure of that emergency visit to Ashcroft has further weakened Gonzales' already weak support on Capitol Hill. In the last couple of days, Republican Senator Chuck Hagel has joined the call for the Attorney General's resignation. And Thursday Senators Charles Schumer of New York and Diane Feinstein of California announced they intend to introduce a no-confidence motion against Gonzales in the Senate. Senate majority leader Harry Reid supports the motion and his staff say it could come to the floor as soon as next week...