The Case of the Gonzales Notes - The Atlantic (September 26, 2008)

The Justice Department is investigating whether former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales created a set of fictitious notes so that President Bush would have a rationale for reauthorizing his warrantless eavesdropping program, according to sources close to the investigation. What Did Bush Tell Gonzales? Sources say Alberto Gonzales now claims that President Bush personally directed him to John Ashcroft's hospital room in the infamous wiretap renewal incident. By Murray Waas President Bush reauthorized the surveillance program on March 11, 2004, one day after the hospitalized Attorney General John Ashcroft refused to sign a certification saying that the program was legal and could therefore continue. In reauthorizing the surveillance program over the objections of his own Justice Department, President Bush later claimed to have... [read full story]