I doubt I ever spoke a kind word about former Attorney General John Ashcroft. He was not my kind of guy. I didn't like his politics, I didn't like his tedious moralizing, and I thought him a ridiculous hack. But I am now forced to reconsider. It seems Mr. Ashcroft cared more about the constitution than he did about his boss. And it seems the former AG had a pair on him:

Senior government officials had expressed concerns about whether the National Security Agency, which administered the warrantless eavesdropping program, had the proper oversight in place. Other concerns included whether any president possessed the legal and constitutional authority to authorize the program as it operated at the time.

Comey testified Tuesday that when he refused to certify the program, Gonzales and Card headed to Ashcroft's sick bed in the intensive care unit at George Washington University Hospital.

When Gonzales appealed to Ashcroft, the ailing attorney general lifted his head off the pillow and in straightforward terms described his views of the program, Comey said. Then he pointed out that Comey, not Ashcroft, held the powers of the attorney general at that moment.

Gonzales and Card then left the hospital room, Comey said.

"I was angry," Comey told the panel. "I thought I had just witnessed an effort to take advantage of a very sick man who did not have the powers of the attorney general."

There was more to the guy than I saw at the time. So, for what it's worth: a belated "right on, Mr. Attorney General."

This entry was posted by Michael Reynolds, on Tuesday, May 15, 2007. You can leave your response.