Is A Presidential Pardon In Alberto Gonzales' Future?

It is starting to sound like one might be necessary (from the Spokesman-Review):

The U.S. Inspector General may recommend criminal prosecution of departed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales at the conclusion of an investigation, possibly as early as next month, the fired former U.S. attorney for Western Washington told a Spokane audience Friday. * * *

“My best guess is [the Office of Inspector General's final report to Congress] will be released sometime next month,’’ and likely will include recommendations for criminal prosecutions of Gonzales and maybe others, McKay said.

Gonzales “lied about” reasons for the firings when questioned under oath in July by the Senate Judiciary Committee and now has hired a lawyer and is refusing to answer questions from the Inspector General, McKay said.

The White House said McKay was fired for poor performance ratings of his office, but the ex-U.S. attorney said he and his office got exemplary reviews just three months before he was fired.

Of course, Gonzales would never see the inside of a jail cell [Fredrick, are you in a betting mood?] In fact, unlike what happened to Scooter Libby, I'm certain that Bush would pardon Gonzales before a trial even started.

But that doesn't mean they shouldn't at least begin a criminal prosecution. I lost count of how many times Gonzales lied under oath before Congress.

Sure, he wasn't the only Bush official to do so -- lying seems to be standard operating procedure for the White House these days. Call me old-fashioned, but I think the Attorney General for the United States of America should be held to a higher standard, even though a criminal prosecution would amount merely to a temporary inconvenience for that sonofabitch.