No confidence resolution introduced in the House of Representatives; Top Republican won't rule out support
 Update: RAW STORY received additional comment from a House Republican leader which has been added to the story.
Two Democratic Members of Congress who previously served as Assistant United States Attorneys have formally introduced a 'no confidence' resolution in the House of Representatives against Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, RAW STORY has learned.
"Resolved: That the House of Representatives and the American people have lost confidence in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and urge the President to request his resignation and to nominate a new candidate more capable of serving as head of the Department of Justice," reads the resolution that was introduced Monday morning by Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Artur Davis (D-AL), a copy of which was e-mailed to RAW STORY.
The office of one top Republican in the House wouldn't rule out his support for the measure.
"[Rep. Adam Putnam (R-FL)] is on the record saying Mr Gonzales did not address congressional concerns during his earlier testimony and he believes he should resign. He has not had the opportunity to review the proposal you mentioned," said a spokesman for Putnam, who chairs the Republican conference and is the number three leader in the House minority leadership.
Earlier, this month, Putnam told a Florida newspaper Gonzales should step down.
"The country deserves an attorney general with the credibility to perform this extremely difficult job, and it is now time for fresh leadership," he said.
In the meanwhile, the House Democrats who sponsored the measure explained their support for it.
"I have been deeply disappointed in Mr. Gonzales mismanagement of the Justice Department, his conflicting statements and testimony, and the low regard he seems to have for the professionals in his charge. America needs an Attorney General who acts in an impartial, judicious and nonpartisan fashion, and who places the interests of justice above all else. Regrettably, I do not feel Mr. Gonzales fits the bill," said Rep. Schiff in a statement. “The Department is broken, and it is clear to me that he is not the one to fix it.”
Congressman Davis added, "The termination of United States attorneys for crassly political motives is the latest and most acute example of a pattern of unacceptable leadership. A Congressional vote of no confidence would send an unmistakable signal that a change is vital at the Department of Justice."
While Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) said this weekend that the no confidence measure proposed by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) would pick up significant Republican support in the Senate, it was not clear that House Republicans would join in supporting the companion bill proposed by Schiff and Davis.
House Republican leaders other than Putnam did not respond to requests for comment at press time. But the recent hearing with the Attorney General in the House Judiciary Committee showed a more tolerant attitude of Gonzales and his role in the firing of the US Attorneys among a considerable group of House Republicans.
"Some serious questions remain unanswered. But we shouldn't kid ourselves. In an L.A. Times poll last month, 63 percent of Americans believed that Congress is pursuing this matter to gain partisan advantage," said Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Ranking Republican on the committee, in the May 10 hearing. "If there are no fish in this lake, we should reel in our lines of questions, dock our empty boat and turn to more pressing issues."
But in an interview with RAW STORY last week, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA), who is helping lead the investigation, called the lack of criticism from House Republicans wrongheaded.
"If it's not troubling to my Republican counterparts here, I think there's something seriously wrong with the way they're looking at this whole issue," she said.
While Reps. Schiff and Davis were content to call for a no confidence motion against the Attorney General, filmmaker Robert Greenwald and the group Democracy for America went further on Monday, launching an online petition that seeks the impeachment of Alberto Gonzales.
"Gonzales changed his tune in an interview with 60 Minutes then changed his tune again by hiding behind, 'I don't recall' more then 60 times in his second Congressional testimony," said Democracy for America Chair Jim Dean in an e-mail announcing the launch of ImpeachGonzales.org. "Time's up for Alberto Gonzales!"
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