Bush 'reluctantly' accepts attorney general's resignation

Embattled U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced his resignation Monday morning in Washington.

President George W. Bush, speaking from his ranch in Crawford, Texas, said he has"reluctantly" accepted the attorney general'sresignation.

"After months of unfair treatment that has created a harmful distraction at the Justice Department, Judge Gonzales decided to submit his resignation," said Bush. "I have reluctantly accepted his resignation with great appreciation for the service that he has provided for our country."

Gonzales, 52,was appointed to the position in February 2005 and wasthe nation's first Hispanic attorney general.

"It has been one of my greatest privileges to lead the Department of Justice," Gonzales said. He will officially leave the position on Sept. 17.

Hesaid he had lived the American dream in his service to Bush and that his worst days as attorney general were better than his father's best days.

"I am profoundly grateful to President Bush for his friendship and for the many opportunities he gave me to serve the American people," he said.

A Justice Department official, speaking anonymously, said Gonzales submitted a resignation letter last Friday. Gonzales said he met with Bush on Sunday to discuss his departure from the post.

Bush has firmly stood behindthe resigning attorney general, who he saidhad become aclose friend, throughout repeatedcalls for hisresignation from both political parties.

"It's sad that we live in a time when a talented and honourable person like Alberto Gonzales is impeded from doing important work because his good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons."

Theinterim replacement attorney generalwill be Solicitor General Paul Clement.

Calls for resignation

Gonzales has faced calls for his resignation from Republicans and Democrats amid accusations that the Justice Department has been used for political purposes.

As attorney general, and earlier as White House counsel, Gonzales faced criticism for drafting controversial rules for military war tribunals, seeking to limit the legal rights of detainees at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, and his push for expanded presidential powers.

The most recentcontroversy involving Gonzales followsthe dismissal of eight federal prosecutors and doubts fromsenatorsabout his truthfulness in testimony before a Senate committee.

The attorneyswere ordered to resign inDecember 2006. Critics alleged the firings were rooted in political partisanship, and several of the prosecutors said they felt pressured to investigate Democrats before elections.

Gonzales has maintained the dismissals were rooted in lacklustre performance records.

Gonzales and other Justice Department officials offered contradicting explanations for the firings during House and Senate probes.

In 2004, Gonzales pressed to reauthorize a secret domestic spying program over the Justice Department's protests.

Hospital confrontation

Gonzales,then White House counsel, and Andrew Card, then the White House chief of staff,sought approval during a dramatic hospital confrontation with then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, who was in intensive care. Ashcroft refused.

The White House subsequently reauthorized the program without the department's approval.

Later, Bush ordered changes to the program to help the department defend its legality. The domestic surveillance program was later declared unconstitutional by a federal judge and since has been changed to require court approval before surveillance can be conducted.

Gonzales also came under fire during a probe into Bush's wiretapping law, which allowed security officials to monitor phone lines without a warrant after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.