I just heard on the Thom Hartmann program that Senator Joseph Lieberman is being considered to replace Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Thom's guest was Marjorie Cohn who went through the scenario we've all talked about and suspected could happen.
I tried to find a news article to this rumor and found a small blurb from KXMB in Bismark, ND.
WASHINGTON (AP) Senator Joe Lieberman and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff are among the names being floated to replace Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. For now, Solicitor General Paul Clement will be in charge of the Justice Department.
As Thom Hartmann points out Lieberman is power hungry and wants nothing more than to be president or vice-president. If he was to take a position in Bush's cabinet this will give him an oppurtunity to become a vice presidential candidate for the Republican nominee, or for another cabinet position in a Republican administration.
Remember what Holy Joe said after voting to confirm Gonzales?
You can agree with Judge Gonzales’s position in this matter or not. I happen to agree with the ultimate decision made. And the decision was, in my opinion, a reasonable one, and ultimately a progressive one. The decision was that under the terms of the Geneva Convention, al Qaeda simply is not a state party to the Convention, is a terrorist group and as such its members were not entitled to prisoner of war status. And there's a sentence in Judge Gonzales’s opinion that has been quoted with great derision, laughter, as if it was over the edge. He wrote, "The new paradigm war on terrorism renders "quaint" some of the provisions requiring that a captured enemy be afforded such things as commissary privileges, script advances of monthly pay, athletic uniforms and scientific instruments."
I think Judge Gonzales was being restrained and diplomatic in using the word "quaint" to offer these benefits -- access to a canteen to purchase food, soap and tobacco, a monthly advance of pay, the ability to have and consult personal financial accounts, the ability to receive scientific equipment, musical instruments or sports outfits. Giving these benefits to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who planned the attacks against us on September 11, wouldn't be quaint. It would be offensive. It would be ridiculous. It would be ultimately unjust.
A conclusion -- a different, interesting kind of conclusion was reached about the Taliban, which is, as the summary of the opinion says, "Although we never recognized the Taliban as a legitimate afghan government, Afghanistan is a party to the Geneva Convention and, therefore, the President has determined that the Taliban are covered by that Convention." But then they decided under the terms of the convention, Taliban detainees do not qualify for prisoner of war status.
Joe Lieberman has been very loyal to the Bush Administration and has spouted their talking points ad nauseam; is he about to be rewarded or is this rumor just that, a rumor?