Editorial: A telling hospital visit

Wednesday, May 16, 2007 | 7:15 a.m.

I n the hospital in 2004 for gallbladder surgery, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft received a visit from two senior White House officials who were bearing anything but get-well wishes.

Frustrated that Ashcroft deputy James Comey, who was serving as acting attorney general, refused to sign off on a domestic spying program, then-White House counsel Alberto Gonzales and chief of staff Andrew Card went to pressure the ailing attorney general.

In his first public comments on the matter, Comey told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that Gonzales and Card entered the room, "And then Mr. Gonzales began to discuss why they were there - to seek his approval for a matter."

So much for bringing flowers.

Comey said Gonzales and Card were there to "get a very sick man to approve something" the Justice Department had already found did not conform to the law.

The Senate is investigating Gonzales, the current attorney general, and his staff for firing nine U.S. attorneys and covering up the reasons for the firings. Comey's testimony shows not only the extent to which the Bush administration has bullied people to get its way but also Gonzales' role and his willingness to do the White House's bidding.

Trying an end-run around the department by pressuring an ailing hospital patient sounds like something out of a Mafia movie, not something the man who is now the nation's top law enforcement official would do.

This is yet another reason why Gonzales should resign.