Ted Poe: “the U.S. Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, is the chief law enforcement officer in this Nation. He is the most…”

“the U.S. Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, is the chief law enforcement officer in this Nation. He is the most powerful prosecutor in America. As such, his credibility is based on his word. He must never deceive, mislead or misstate. There have been two different accounts by his office about the firings of some U.S. Attorneys. Gonzalez says he never has discussed the firings, but secret memos show a meeting to discuss such was held in his very office where he was present. Both statements cannot be true. His word is tarnished. The issue is not whether the administration can fire U.S. Attorneys. It can do so for almost any reason under the law. Madam Speaker, growing up, my grandmother was the Chief Law Enforcement Officer. Her word was the law. I never doubted what she said. I respected her because she was always bluntly truthful. If she had told me it was raining in my house, I would have rushed home and started putting plastic over the furniture, because she never misled or misstated the truth. This Nation deserves better than to have an Attorney General who cannot be forthright with Congress and misleads the citizens he has been sworn to protect. He has a credibility issue. His word should be as bluntly truthful as my grandmother's. And that's just the way it is.”