Aug 27, 2007 -- Resignation of AG Gonzales: Statement of J. Gerald Hebert, Executive Director, Campaign Legal Center

The departure of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will allow the Department of Justice to begin to restore both the credibility of the Department in the eyes of the public and the morale its employees. Both morale and public confidence have suffered terribly under the leadership, or lack of leadership of Alberto Gonzales. The work of the Justice Department is too important to our democracy to be undermined as it was by the outgoing Attorney General.

I was a young attorney at the Justice Department at the time of Nixon's infamous "Saturday Night Massacre" and have an understanding of crippled morale within DOJ and tarnished public credibility. I can only hope that President Bush's selection of a new Attorney General will match President Ford's selection of Edward Levi who was able to restore integrity to the Department. The new Attorney General will inherit a Department every bit as damaged as Nixon's DOJ. Not only must the public trust be regained, talented new attorneys must be attracted to replace the exodus of dedicated career professionals who resigned rather than continue working in the highly politicized environment that took root under Alberto Gonzales.

Today marks a window of opportunity for the future of this storied institution. I sincerely hope that the opportunity is not squandered for a political edge. Justice is blind but she hears. And right now we need to hear about the nomination of an Attorney General who has a reputation for being neither a Republican nor a Democrat, but a top notch lawyer like Ed Levi.

Further commentary on the topic is available here .