Video From Gonzales Hearing

I will be away from my computer all day (and for the weekend) but did not want to leave without providing you with some coverage of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings yesterday on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and the Justice Department scandal.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee led off with Gonzales:

"Today the Department of Justice is experiencing a crisis of leadership, perhaps unrivaled in its 137-year history," said Leahy. "The Department of Justice should never be reduced to another political arm of the White House -- this White House or any White House. The Department of Justice must be worthy of its name. The trust and confidence of the American people and federal law enforcement must be restored."

Here's video of Leahy's opening statement:



Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) questions Gonzales:



Here's Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY):



Even Republican Arlen Specter was tough on the Attorney General:



Thanks to our friends at PoliticsTV for all of this video.

You can view the transcripts of yesterday's hearings at The Washington Post and please go to Firedoglake to read live-blogging of the hearings as they were happening and for ongoing coverage.