The New Monica Scandal

Yikes. I wouldn't want to be in her shoes.

Monica Goodling... what can I say? Many pundits in D.C. are referring to her as "Bush's Monica" - a not-so-veiled reference to his predecessor's Monica scandal.

All Clinton-related-humor aside (LOVE John Goodman), Monica Goodling has blown the Alberto Gonzales/U.S. Attorney scandal wide open. Unfortunately, this means with every question that get answered, there are two or three more questions that come up.

To begin with, Ms. Goodling admitted to using a political "litmus test" when choosing to hire career professionals in the Department of Justice (DOJ). Essentially, if she didn't like your politics, you would not even be considered for a job. She said that she "crossed the line" but that she regrets making those "mistakes". When asked if she felt that she had participated in an illegal act she responded, "I know I crossed the line... but I didn't mean to."

Well, thanks for your time Monica. You can go now. All is forgiven.

Wait... you mean there is more?!

In her opening remarks, Goodling wasted no time in throwing her former colleagues at the DOJ under the proverbial bus:

I believe the deputy [attorney general Paul McNulty] was not fully candid about his knowledge of White House involvement in the replacement decision, failed to disclose that he had some knowledge of the White House's interest in selecting Tim Griffin as the interim U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Arkansas, inaccurately described the department's internal assessment of the Parsky commission, and failed to disclose that he had some knowledge of allegations that Tim Griffin had been involved in vote- cadging during his work on the president's 2004 campaign.

Now, understand that she is basically accusing McNulty of giving false testimony to the Senate Judiciary committee - which could be ruled perjury. This is no small accusation.

BUT, I think the biggest bombshell piece of news was when Ms. Goodling testified that she had met with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales after the investigation had begun. In his earlier testimony, Gonzales said that he had not discussed information regarding the congressional inquiry with any of his colleagues at the DOJ to preserve the integrity of the investigation. However, Goodling testified that Gonzales told her about his impending testimony, AND wanted to know what her "reactions" might be.

Of course, Alberto Gonzales then issued a statement:

The attorney general has never attempted to influence or shape the testimony or public statements of any witness in this matter, including Ms. Goodling. The statements made by the attorney general during this meeting were intended only to comfort her in a very difficult period of her life.

Messed up. That right there is a classic case of witness tampering. If you are involved in an investigation, you simply can not speak with other witnesses... about ANYTHING. Duh.

I'm going to continue to follow this story with much interest...

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Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Photo: Jim Young/REUTERS

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