Hagel: Gonzales must go

Nebraska Republican says the attorney general has lost the "moral authority" to lead.

Published May 16, 2007 4:25PM (EDT)

Alberto Gonzales has just lost another Republican senator.

In the wake of yesterday's incredible testimony from former Deputy Attorney General James Comey, Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel says Gonzales has "lost the moral authority" to serve as attorney general.

"The American people deserve an attorney general, the chief law enforcement officer of our country, whose honesty and capability are beyond question," Hagel said in a statement. "Attorney General Gonzales can no longer meet this standard. He has failed this country. He has lost the moral authority to lead."

Hagel joins GOP Sens. John McCain, John Sununu and Gordon Smith in calling -- with varying degrees of adamancy -- for Gonzales' resignation. A fourth Republican senator, former Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter, has made it clear that he'd be happy to see the attorney general step down but has stopped short of calling on him to do so.


By Tim Grieve

Tim Grieve is a senior writer and the author of Salon's War Room blog.

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