Administration of George W. Bush, 2007 / Aug. 27

Remarks on the Resignation of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales in Waco, Texas August 27, 2007

This morning Attorney General Alberto one of Texas’s most prestigious law firms Gonzales announced that he will leave the to be my general counsel. He went on to Department of Justice after 21⁄2 years of become Texas’s 100th secretary of state and service to the Department. Al Gonzales is to serve on our State’s supreme court. In a man of integrity, decency, and principle. the long course of our work together, this And I have reluctantly accepted his resigna- trusted adviser became a close friend. tion, with great appreciation for the service These various positions have required that he has provided for our country. sacrifice from Al, his wife Becky, their sons As Attorney General and before that as Jared, Graham, and Gabriel. And I thank White House Counsel, Al Gonzales has them for their service to the country. played a critical role in shaping our policies After months of unfair treatment that has in the war on terror and has worked tire- created a harmful distraction at the Justice lessly to make this country safer. The PA- Department, Judge Gonzales decided to re- TRIOT Act, the Military Commissions Act, sign his position, and I accept his decision. and other important laws bear his imprint. It’s sad that we live in a time when a tal- Under his leadership, the Justice Depart- ented and honorable person like Alberto ment has made a priority of protecting chil- Gonzales is impeded from doing important dren from Internet predators and made en- work because his good name was dragged forcement of civil rights laws a top priority. through the mud for political reasons. He aggressively and successfully pursued I’ve asked Solicitor General Paul public corruption and effectively combated Clement to serve as Acting Attorney Gen- gang violence. eral upon Alberto Gonzales’s departure and As Attorney General, he played an im- until a nominee has been confirmed by the portant role in helping to confirm two fine Senate. He’s agreed to do so. Paul is one jurists in Chief Justice John Roberts and of the finest lawyers in America. As Solic- Justice Samuel Alito. He did an outstanding itor General, Paul has developed a reputa- job as White House Counsel, identifying tion for excellence and fairness and earned and recommending the best nominees to the respect and confidence of the entire fill critically important Federal court vacan- Justice Department. cies. Thank you. Alberto Gonzales’s tenure as Attorney General and White House Counsel is only part of a long history of distinguished pub- NOTE: The President spoke at 10:50 a.m. at lic service that began as a young man when, the Texas State Technical College Airport. after high school, he enlisted in the United The Office of the Press Secretary also re- States Air Force. When I became Governor leased a Spanish language transcript of these of Texas in 1995, I recruited him from remarks.

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Remarks Congratulating Iraqi Leaders at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico August 27, 2007

I congratulate Iraq’s leaders on the It’s in our interests that we help the Iraqi agreement reached yesterday in Baghdad. people succeed. Success in Iraq will be a I’ve been briefed on the agreement, and major blow to the extremists and radicals this morning I spoke to Iraq’s elected lead- who would like to attack America again. ers. These leaders represent all the Iraqi And that’s why the United States will con- communities. These leaders of Prime Min- tinue to support Iraq’s leaders and all the ister Maliki, President Talabani, Vice Presi- Iraqi people in their efforts to overcome dent Hashimi, Vice President Abd Al- the forces of terror that seek to overthrow Mahdi, President Barzani recognize the a nascent democracy. true and meaningful reconciliation that In this regard, I welcome and accept the needs to take place, and they recognize this expressed desire of the Iraqi leadership to is a process. Yesterday’s agreement reflects develop a long-term relationship with the their commitment to work together for the United States based on common interests. The United States is committed to devel- benefit of all Iraqis to further the process. oping this relationship and to strengthening The agreement begins to establish new diplomatic, economic, and security ties with power-sharing agreements and commits to the Iraqi Government and its people. supporting bottom-up security and political Thank you. initiatives and advances agreement among Iraq’s leadership on several key legislative NOTE: The President spoke at 11:33 a.m. In benchmarks. his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister While yesterday’s agreement is an impor- Nuri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talabani, and tant step, I reminded them, and they un- Vice Presidents Tariq al-Hashimi and Adil derstand, much more needs to be done. Abd Al-Mahdi of Iraq; and Masoud Barzani, The Iraqi parliament will convene again in president, Kurdistan region in Iraq. The Of- early September, and it will need to act fice of the Press Secretary also released a to codify this political progress. Spanish language transcript of these remarks.

Remarks at a Reception for Congressional Candidate David G. Reichert and the Washington State Republican Party in Bellevue, Washington August 27, 2007

Thank you all. Thanks for coming. I ap- an independent thinker. He’s the kind of preciate it. Okay, thank you. Thanks for person who has done a fabulous job in the coming. How’s your elbow, Dave? [Laugh- United States House of Representatives, ter] First of all, I thank you all for sup- and he deserves to be reelected. And I porting an honest, decent, hard-working, thank you for supporting him. I particularly fine American in Dave Reichert. You call want to thank Julie for standing with him ‘‘the sheriff.’’ I look at him as a sheriff. Dave—and the family. He’s tough when he has to be, he’s com- I know something about families and pol- passionate when he needs to be, and he’s itics. Like Dave, I married above my head.

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