So who threw Gonzo under the bus? Obviously it wasn't Bush, who was clearly furious when he delivered his extremely brief remarks - in strong contrast to his public display of affection for Karl Rove.
Rather, it looks like the dirty deed was done by White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and White House Counsel Fred Fielding, according to the NY Times.
The officials said he offered his resignation on Friday in a brief telephone conversation with Mr. Bush, who was at his ranch in Crawford, and that the president immediately accepted the resignation. On Sunday, Mr. Gonzales and his wife flew to the ranch for a consoling lunch where the resignation was confirmed.
But other Republicans close to the White House and Mr. Gonzales offered a different account, suggesting that the attorney general was eased out and that the process leading to his departure unfolded over several months as Joshua B. Bolten, the White House chief of staff, and Fred F. Fielding, the White House counsel, concluded that Mr. Gonzales had become a liability and quietly pushed for him to step down.
Mr. Gonzales had his defenders at the White House, chiefly Karl Rove, the senior White House adviser. The officials said that when Mr. Rove announced that he was leaving, Mr. Gonzales lost a protector.
“He was being protected, in large measure by Karl,” said a Republican close to the White House. When Mr. Rove left, the Republican said, “It further exposed that the only thing that was standing with him was the president of the United States.”
White House spokespeople said Monday that Mr. Bolten had not orchestrated Mr. Gonzales’s resignation. [Yeah like he's going to admit it - gimme a break.]
The likelihood that Mr. Gonzales was pressed to leave was strengthened by the shock the announcement caused at the Justice Department. Mr. Gonzales had told no one he was thinking about stepping aside and did not inform his chief of staff, Kevin O’Connor, until Sunday afternoon.
So how much unseen power are Bolten and Fielding actually exerting? And who wins when Cheney disagrees with them?
Inquiring minds want to know...
