Building Trades News

Alberto Gonzales Must Go!

By Richard Slawson, Executive-Secretary

First I want to say that whoever is the U.S. attorney general, it is a labor issue. The federal government, and over the decades state and local governments have as well, maintained legal oversight of the work place, business and Unions throughout this country. Every year we are required to provide notice on negotiations, financial statements and Union elections. If any branch of government wants an investigation or legal opinion on our actions, the actions of a contractor in the work place for safety or labor law violations or to file an indictment against any American, the Justice Department under the direction of the Attorney General acts. The current United States attorney general was hand picked by President Bush and at every step has used America’s chief law enforcement agency as a politically partisan arm of the president’s office. This can’t stand, it can’t continue without having long term negative effect on all of us who have expectation of an independent, honest and unbiased legal system. Every aspect of our lives, in the work place, in our financial institutions, our homes and in every courthouse, is dependent on “liberty and justice for all,” as we repeat in the Pledge of Allegiance. The continuing revelations of appointments of U.S. attorneys based on political party rather than ability and experience should be something that every American dreads and fears. No matter what party is in power, Americans at any income level, or in any occupation should be worried that because of their political party affiliation they are going to be targeted by the attorney general’s hired guns. When you take into account the rights and freedoms that Alberto Gonzales; the U.S. attorney general appointed in 2005, by President Bush, after he had been his administration attorney in the White House; either ignores or states they don’t exist, you have to be worried that you may become their target for investigation. The Congressional committees that have been investigating the firings of eight U.S. attorneys in various cities around the country, especially the members of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, have been at the least skeptical of the motivations for their firing. Testimony during committee hearings by Gonzales has been contradicted by witness after witness and records from the attorney general’s office have shown that, in my opinion, the attorney general has lied to Congress. However, lying to Congress isn’t the worst that Gonzales has done. Supporting the eavesdropping through wire-taping phones of American citizens without warrants, testifying that he didn’t believe that “habeas corpus” was a right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, and acting to fire eight U.S. attorneys because they weren’t partisan enough and wouldn’t use their office and their extreme power over the lives of Americans at the direction of the Bush administration, should scare every American. Having an administration use the attorney general as its personal legal office to punish dissenters of their political agenda flouts and undermines our Constitution and is an open more towards dictatorial power. It is one thing to pass legislation or use the authority of the presidency to enact executive orders to punish the opposition. That is part of our political expectation and has been a part of our country’s history, however, turning the legal system into a biased, illegal arm of any administration calls for a severe response. As Ted Olson, President Bush’s attorney during the 2000 election battle in Florida said at that time: “The Justice Department and its officials traditionally have been held to a standard of independence and non-partisanship not expected at other federal agencies. Whenever that barrier has been breached in the past, whenever politics has permeated the decision-making or the atmosphere at the Department of Justice, as occurred in Watergate, the consequences for the nation have been grave.” Just the ability of the president to use executive orders has been grave for craftsmen and women, when in February of 2001, President Bush issued his infamous order against the use of federal funds for any project requiring a Project Labor Agreement. Now, we have to be concerned that the U.S. Justice Department is going to trump up a case against Unions, Union contractors or refuse to act against contractors breaking our laws because they happen to be on the wrong side of this administration. Congress can’t even be sure that the legal system will not target them if they oppose legislation that this president supports. Our only hope is that both Republicans and Democrats see the “grave” effects of the apparent conspiracy involving the attorney general and the president and take action to remove Mr. Gonzales from government. We should all be calling our congressional representatives demanding that they fulfill their Constitutional responsibilities.

 

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