Congressman Elijah E. Cummings Proudly Representing Maryland's 7th District

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 27, 2007

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Jennifer Kohl
202.225.4741 or 202.225.4025   
Trudy Perkins
410.685.9199 or 202.225.4641

Washington, D.C. - Today, following the announcement of the resignation of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md), released the following statement:

"Today we take a step in the right direction toward justice in America. With the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, we begin the process of restoring credibility to the U.S. Department of Justice.

"The tenure of Attorney General Gonzales has been one mired with controversy, ranging from the inhumane treatment of detainees in Guantanamo Bay to illegal wiretapping to accusations of politicized firings of federal prosecutors. The allegations that have been raised against Attorney General Gonzales are very serious and have severely impaired the credibility and the appearance of impartiality in the Justice Department. Any system of law must not only ensure equality and impartiality, but also that there is not even an appearance of unfairness in the system.

"I encourage President Bush to be very mindful in choosing a new appointee to replace Attorney General Gonzales. It is critical that a nominee for the position of Attorney General have the credibility to restore the public's confidence in our justice system.

"It is my hope that with the departure of Attorney General Gonzales we will also see the departure of the distractions that have been occupying the time and attention of the Justice Department. In particular, I look forward to working with the DOJ on H.R. 933, the Witness Security and Protection Act of 2007, legislation I introduced to assist state and local prosecutors in protecting witnesses from intimidation. To date, crucial elements of this bill have been ignored by the Justice Department.

"Americans are dying in our streets every day, but when law enforcement tries to investigate the crimes, no one comes forward.  Without witnesses, there can be no justice.  With this change in leadership, it is my hope that we will begin focusing on improving the lives of our citizens. We must come together at all levels of government to ensure that our prosecutors have the resources necessary to combat this growing trend.

"As we continue to see agents and appointees of the Bush Administration depart, we must come together as a nation to ensure that we move forward to recover from poor judgment and harmful decisions that have been exercised. It must be a top priority to restore credibility and faith in the government."

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