Gonzales Post-Mortum Begins

The United States Attorney-General has resigned after coming under months of pressure. Alberto Gonzales gave no reason for his decision, but members of Congress have accused him of abuse of office over the sacking of federal prosecutors. Critics also contend that he authorized torture to interrogate suspects in the so-called war on terror and infringed the constitution by backing a domestic wiretapping program.

George Bush will soon be departing for Australia but today's high-profile departure was his administration's Attorney-General.

GEORGE W. BUSH, US PRESIDENT: After months of unfair treatment, that has created harmful... a harmful distraction at the Justice Department, Judge Gonzales decided to resign his position and I accept his decision.

The President said the Attorney-General's name had been dragged through the mud for political reasons. Alberto Gonzales, the son of a migrant worker, alluded to the months of controversy.

ALBERTO GONZALES, RETIRING US ATTORNEY-GENERAL: I have lived the American dream. Even my worst days as Attorney-General have been better than my father's best days.

But others were explicit.

JONATHAN TURLEY, LAW PROFESSOR: There was a mosaic that came out, sort of this picture of an Attorney-General that was doing everything he could to hide facts or mislead Congress. Well, you can't do that. You know, you are not a mob attorney, you are the Attorney-General of the United States speaking to a branch of the government.

When Alberto Gonzales was sworn in, it marked the ascendancy of another Bush friend from Texas. George Bush said he played a critical part in America's war on terror. But others lambasted that role of authorising the secret phone tapping program of Americans without warrants. In 2002 he described parts of the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners as obsolete and quaint.

SENATOR CHARLES SCHUMER, US DEMOCRAT: At last, the Attorney-General has done the right thing and stepped down. For the previous six months, the Justice Department has been virtually non-functional and desperately needs new leadership.

As he left, Mr Gonzales paid tribute to the department.

ALBERTO GONZALES: I have great admiration and respect for the men and women who work here.

But that hasn't always been the case. Last year, he fired nine federal prosecutors. Opponents said it was for purely political reasons. Gonzales denied he'd done anything wrong, but while advocating a tough line on detainees at Guantanamo Bay was one thing, a perception by some in both parties that he was tampering with justice at home was another.

STEFAN MONIN, US JUSTICE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEE: I think his resignation shows the rest of the world that the government, it does have some sort of accountability to the public.

The only indisputable fact would appear to be that he joins the growing ranks of high-level departures from the White House. Karl Rove, Mr Bush's most trusted and senior adviser, who announced his departure earlier this month, the most recent.

Prue Lewarne