HE'S GONE!

[Ibby]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20459457/

WASHINGTON - Embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, under fire from congressional Democrats and even some Republicans, has resigned, senior Bush administration officials said Monday.

Gonzales spoke to President Bush by telephone on Friday and then visited him at his Crawford, Texas, ranch on Sunday where he formally submitted his letter of resignation, a senior administration official said.

“He (Bush) very reluctantly accepted it,” the official said.

Asked whether anyone from the White House had suggested that Gonzales resign, the official said: “It was his decision.”

The officials declined to be identified because the formal announcement about Gonzales was still pending.

Gonzales has scheduled a 10:30 a.m. ET statement at the Justice Department. NBC News reports Bush is also expected to make a statement about 11:50 a.m. ET, as he prepares to depart Waco for a fundraising event in Albuquerque, N.M.

The 51-year-old Bush loyalist was at the center of a political firestorm over the firings of eight federal prosecutors, which critics in Congress complained were politically motivated.

Schumer, Edwards react
Reaction from Democrats was swift.

“It has been a long and difficult struggle but at last, the attorney general has done the right thing and stepped down,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat.

“We beseech the Administration to work with us to nominate someone whom Democrats can support and America can be proud of.”

“Better late than never,” said Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, a former North Carolina senator.

A senior Justice Department official said that a likely temporary replacement for Gonzales is Solicitor General Paul Clement, who would take over until a permanent replacement is found.

Current and former administration officials had said the department’s integrity had been damaged under Gonzales with controversy over the firing of the prosecutors, his support for Bush’s warrantless domestic spying program and other issues.

They said as a result employee morale had been hurt and Gonzales’ relations with the Democratic-controlled Congress had deteriorated beyond repair in a firestorm of criticism from lawmakers, including some Republicans.

Drew fire from GOP's Specter
Several senators had said they had lost confidence in Gonzales and his ability to head the Justice Department.

Last month, in response to criticism by Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania that the department was ”dysfunctional,” Gonzales told a congressional hearing “I have decided to stay and fix the problems.”

While acknowledging mistakes in the handling of the dismissals, Gonzales had denied the firings were politically motivated to influence federal probes involving Democratic or Republican lawmakers.

Bush has defended Gonzales and cited Gonzales’ rise as an achievement for Hispanics, the largest minority in the United States.

“I haven’t seen Congress say he’s done anything wrong,” Bush said at a recent news conference. “As a matter of fact, I believe we’re watching ... a political exercise.”

Gonzales worked for Bush when he was governor of Texas in the 1990s. He served as White House lawyer in Bush's first term as president before becoming the first Hispanic to serve as attorney general in February 2005.

Gonzales drew fire from civil liberties groups for writing in January 2002 that parts of the half-century-old Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war were "obsolete" and some provisions were "quaint."

He also was criticized for Bush's warrantless domestic spying program adopted after the Sept. 11 attacks. Only in January, in an abrupt reversal, did Gonzales say the program finally would be subject to court approval.

ABOUT FUCKIN' TIME.