Let Gonzo Off the Perjury Hook

Alberto Gonzales’ Senate testimony last week was a disgraceful exercise in dodging, but the perjury charge Democratic senators have been hawking ever since doesn’t hold water, says  the Washington Post’s lefty Ruth Marcus. In an “unexpected position,” the writer defends Gonzales, saying he may have minced words in testimony about his Ashcroft sickbed visit—but probably didn’t lie.

There are plenty of aspects of wireless wiretapping Ashcroft and Gonzales could have argued about beyond the Terrorist Surveillance Program the attorney general claims not to have discussed, she argues. Perjury has definite boundaries, and it’s easy to believe Gonzales didn’t trespass them. Marcus is more than a little frustrated with those pushing the charge, saying they should instead be focusing their efforts on the wiretapping program itself. (More perjury stories.)