Bush Personally Ordered Visit to Ashcroft’s Hospital Bed
Friday, July 10, 2009 at 5:43 pm
One warrantless surveillance mystery solved. My friend Marcy Wheeler beat me to this: George W. Bush personally ordered White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales and Chief of Staff Andy Card to visit an ailing Attorney General John Ashcroft in the hospital in March 2004 after Ashcroft’s deputy Jim Comey refused to certify the warrantless surveillance program. Just look at this profile in courage:
According to notes from Ashcroft’s FBI security detail, at 6:20 p.m. that evening Card called the hospital and spoke with an agent in Ashcroft’s security detail, advising him that President Bush would be calling shortly to speak with Ashcroft. Ashcroft’s wife told the agent that Ashcroft would not accept the call. Ten minutes later, the agent called Ashcroft’s Chief of Staff David Ayers at DOJ to request that Ayers speak with Card about the President’s intention to call Ashcroft. The agent conveyed to Ayers Mrs. Ashcroft’s desire that no calls be made to Ashcroft for another day or two. However, at 6:45 p.m., Card and the President called the hospital and, according to the agent’s notes, “insisted on speaking [with Attorney General Ashcroft].” According to the agent’s notes, Mrs. Ashcroft took the call from Card and the President and was informed that Gonzales and Card were coming to the hospital to see Ashcroft regarding a matter involving national security.
Jack Goldsmith remembers that after a seriously-ill Ashcroft told Gonzales and Card to follow Comey’s legal advice, Goldsmith seriously thought Ashcroft might actually die right then and there. Ashcroft earns himself a place in the patriot’s pantheon just for that. I truly can’t wait to see how Bush’s presidential library treats this incident.
–
Follow Spencer Ackerman on Twitter
17 Comments
Pingback posted July 10, 2009 @ 8:26 pm
[...] Here is the original: Bush Personally Ordered Visit to Ashcroft’s Hospital Bed [...]
Comment posted July 11, 2009 @ 2:57 am
“I truly can’t wait to see how Bush’s presidential library treats this incident.”
uh, they will ignore it for decades?
Just a guess, based on his years in the office.
C
Comment posted July 11, 2009 @ 5:49 pm
The sins of the last addministration will, inevitably come to light and some big heads will roll.
George W. Bush would probably be convicted of several crimes, including war crimes under most conditions.
He will, of course, plead insanity, and who could argue against that?
Pingback posted July 11, 2009 @ 8:45 pm
[...] The Washington Independent [...]
Comment posted July 12, 2009 @ 10:40 am
I don't think so. Go read Jane Mayer's book, The Dark Side and you'll see it was Cheney pulling all the strings behind the curtain Bu$h was standing in front of. If anything, Bu$h will be saddled with being asleep at the wheel and allowing his subordinates to run the government by whatever manner they could get away with. It's Cheney, Addington, Yoo and others whose necks should be in the noose. A message needs to be sent to appointees they don't run the government.
Comment posted July 12, 2009 @ 10:43 am
More than that, I have a new respect for Ashcroft himself. While I disagree with his politics, I realize he understood the travesty of justice coming out of the White House and wasn't going to be a party to it. He had more respect for the office and the responsibility that went with it than he held than for the man in the Oval Office who was trying to make him an accomplice to a crime.
Comment posted July 12, 2009 @ 10:49 am
Nixon was in charge of his Presidential library until his death. Once it came under the jurisdiction of the US government, they had to clean up all the false information that blamed the Democrats for staging a witch hunt to run him out of office. So as long as Bu$h is alive and in control of it, it'll be a sanctuary for his defense he did everything for God, Country and keeping America safe. Once he dies, his daughters will have a choice to keep the facade alive or let the government take it over and weed out the falsehoods and let the truth be known to all.
Comment posted July 12, 2009 @ 12:47 pm
Bush & Cheney are deep in this Conspiracy To Deceive Congress about Secret CIA Spy Programs and Torture- Prosecute Now! #fb
Comment posted July 13, 2009 @ 5:01 am
The Bush regime is over, the criminal details are finally coming to light, but no one seems to care. Please shout it from the rooftops, bookstores, coffee shops, barbershops, corners. For the sake of our nation. Where are the Murrows, Cronkites, Moyers, Thom Paine's ? Our nation is diseased.
Comment posted July 13, 2009 @ 9:02 am
Not only is the Bush regime over. The Republican Party is on it's deathbed. I am a senior citizen and they are no friends of seniors. The new and recent voters who grew up during the Clinton-Bush era won't be fooled. They know that the Pubs put us in the hole we are in and they know who will be paying for it. The only thing that can save the GOP is their art of sophistry (a sophism is a confusing or illogical argument used for deceiving someone) and knowing how to hit below the belt. For some reason, the Democrats won't use these tactics and it could burn them.
Comment posted July 13, 2009 @ 3:25 pm
“after Ashcroft’s deputy Jim Comey refused to certify the warrantless surveillance program.”
Bush was involved in all of these conspiracies from the start. Cheney probably manipulated him. Regardless we need to know the truth. Too many evils were done in our name. Time for public hearings under oath.
SIGN THE PETITION
Demanding both a
Commission of Inquiry
and a Special Prosecutor.
Forward this url to your friends
We can't let them bury these crimes.
Over 250,000 signers so far
Join them and call yourself a patriot
Comment posted December 8, 2009 @ 2:49 pm
The new and recent voters who grew up during the Clinton-Bush era won't be fooled.
Find more jobs: http://www.staffingpower.com/
Comment posted December 8, 2009 @ 7:49 pm
The new and recent voters who grew up during the Clinton-Bush era won't be fooled.
Find more jobs: http://www.staffingpower.com/
Comment posted June 1, 2010 @ 12:00 pm
My guess is that Bush didn't personally order a visit to Ashcroft's hospital bed, but was rather advised to do so. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Bush to be a bad person, I just don't think he cares so much for Ashcroft, and whether or not he's comfortable on those hospital memory foam mattresses. I think this was intended strictly for the media.
Comment posted September 4, 2010 @ 11:38 am
Nixon was in charge of his Presidential library until his death. Once it came under the jurisdiction of the US government, they had to clean up all the false information that blamed the Democrats for staging a witch hunt to run him out of office. So as long as Bu$h is alive and in control of it, it'll be a sanctuary for his defense he did everything for God, Country and keeping America safe. Once he dies, his daughters will have a choice to keep the facade alive or let the government take it over and weed out the falsehoods and let the truth be known to all.
Pingback posted November 12, 2010 @ 7:33 am
[...] of Decision Points — a curious title for the memoir of a man who learned of some of the most important decisions of his presidency* only after they’d caused mass resignations — the canonization of President Bush, [...]
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
rss