About Alberto Gonzales: 80th U.S. Attorney General (1955-)
Alberto Gonzalez (born August 4, 1955) is an American attorney who was appointed by President George W. Bush in February 2005 as the 80th Attorney General of the United States, making him the highest-ranking Hispanic executive to date American. He is the first Hispanic to serve as White House counsel. Earlier, he served as general counsel during Bush’s tenure as governor of Texas. Gonzalez also served as Texas secretary of state and then as a Texas Supreme Court justice.
During Gonzalez’s tenure as U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. government’s undocumented surveillance of U.S. citizens and the legal mandate of so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques” in the post-9/11 “war on terror” (later widely believed to constitute torture) existed dispute. Gonzalez also presided over the firing of several U.S. attorneys who refused to prosecute political opponents privately through White House instructions, allegedly resulting in the improper politicization of the attorney general’s office. After calling for his removal, in 2007 Gonzalez Resigned from office on August 27, 2007 “in the best interests of the department”, effective September 17, 2007.
In 2008, Gonzalez started a mediation and consulting practice. Additionally, he teaches political science courses and serves as a diversity recruiter at Texas Tech University. Gonzalez is currently the dean of the Belmont University School of Law in Nashville, Tennessee, where he currently teaches constitutional law, separation of powers, national security law, and the First Amendment. He previously served as legal counsel at Waller Lansden Dorch & Davis, LLP, a Nashville-based law firm, where he advised clients on special matters, government investigations, and regulatory matters. He regularly writes opinion articles for national newspapers and appears on national news programs.
personal life
Gonzalez was born into a Catholic family in San Antonio, Texas, and grew up in Humble, a small town outside Houston, Texas. He is of Mexican descent, the second of eight children born to Maria (Rodriguez) and Pablo M. Gonzales. His father, who died in 1982, was a migrant worker and later a construction worker with a second-grade education. His mother worked from home, raised eight children, and was educated in sixth grade. Gonzalez lives with his family of ten in a tiny two-bedroom house built by his father and uncles, without a phone or hot water. According to Gonzalez, he does not know whether immigration documents exist for his three grandparents, who were born in Mexico and may have entered and lived in the United States illegally.
In 1973, Gonzalez enlisted for four years as an honors student at MacArthur High School in unincorporated Harris County. He served for a year at a long-range radar site at Fort Yukon, Alaska, with 100 other GIs. He was then released from active duty to attend the US Soccer Preparatory School, after which he was appointed to the United States Air Force Academy. Before beginning his third year at the academy, which would lead to further service obligations, he left the academy and was released from his enlistment contract. He transferred to Rice University in Houston, where he attended Lovett College. He was later elected as a Charles Parkhill Scholar in Political Science and received a BA with Honours in Political Science in 1979. He then received his Juris Doctor (JD) from Harvard Law School in 1982.
Gonzalez was married twice: he and his first wife, Diane Clemens, divorced in 1985; he and his second wife, Rebecca Turner Gonzalez Gonzales had three sons.
early career
From 1982 to 1994, Gonzalez practiced private practice at the Houston law firm Vinson and Elkins, where he became a partner — one of the first Hispanic partners in its history — where he primarily worked with Corporate client cooperation. He was named general counsel to then-Texas Governor George W. Bush in 1994, rose to Texas Secretary of State in 1997, and was appointed a Texas Supreme Court Justice in 1999, Both appointments were made by Governor Bush. Gonzalez won the 2000 Republican primary, remained on the court, and was elected to the state Supreme Court for a six-year term in the November 2000 election.
make out
Gonzales has remained active in the community, serving as a director or committee member of several nonprofit organizations from 1985 to 1994.
In the legal field, Gonzalez provided pro bono legal services to the hosting committee of the Republican National Convention in Houston in 1992, and served on the board of directors of the Texas State Bar Association from 1991 to 1994, Served as a board trustee of the Texas Bar Association Foundation from 1996 to 1999. He has received many professional honors, including the 1997 Presidential Award from the Texas State Bar for his dedication to addressing the basic legal needs of the poor. In 1999, he was named Latino Lawyer of the Year by the Hispanic National Bar Association.
Between 2002 and 2003, Gonzalez was recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus of Rice University and received the Harvard Law School Association Award, the John Ben Sheppard School of Public Leadership Distinguished Texas Leadership Award, the American Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President’s Award, the Latin American Citizens League President’s Award, Gary L. McPherson Distinguished Alumni Award from the American Council of Young Political Leaders, Presidential Leadership Award from the American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico Texas Association, Truinfador Award from the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, American Young Political Leaders Association Hispanic Hero Award for Mexican American Advancement, Good Neighbor Award from the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce and Lifetime Achievement Award from the Travis County, Texas Republican Party. In 2004, Gonzalez received the Exemplary Leadership Award from the American Leadership Forum in Houston, the Hector Barreto, Sr. Award from the Latino Coalition in 2005, and the President’s Award from the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in America.
The son of a former immigrant worker, Gonzalez’s appointment as U.S. attorney general is seen by many as the embodiment of the American dream.His professional achievements and work in the Hispanic community earned him recognition for Hispanic American of the Year Hispanic Magazine One of the 25 Most Influential Hispanics in America in 2005 time magazine. Gonzalez was inducted into the Achievement Academy Class of 2005. Gonzalez received the Outstanding Leadership Award from Houston Leadership in 2006. In 2007, when he left government, he received the CIA Director’s Award and the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Distinguished Public Service Medal.
On May 20, 2006, Houston Mayor Bill White proclaimed “Alberto Gonzalez Day” in Houston in recognition of his contributions to improving the city of Houston. Academic institutions also recognize Gonzalez’s achievements. Honorary Doctor of Laws, Catholic University of America, 2002; Honorary Degree of Arts and Letters, Miami-Dade Community College, 2003; Juris Doctor, honoris causa, University of the District of Columbia, 2005; Associate of Arts, Houston Community College System, 2005; and 2007 Southern Methodist University Honorary Alumni Award.
advisor to governor bush
As an attorney for Governor Bush, Gonzalez helped advise Bush on jury duty when he was subpoenaed in a 1996 Travis County DUI case. The case was controversial during Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign because Bush’s answers to a questionnaire for potential jurors did not disclose Bush’s own 1976 misdemeanor drink-driving conviction. Gonzalez did not formally ask Bush to be relieved of jury duty, but raised a possible conflict of interest because as governor, Bush could be asked to pardon the defense. Gonzalez’s work in the case has been described as a “shrewd lawyer.”
As Governor Bush’s attorney in Texas, Gonzalez also reviewed all clemency requests. An article from 2003 atlantic monthly The appeal also failed, alleging that Gonzalez did not provide adequate lawyers and did not speculate on the conviction after the fact. From 1995 to 1999, Gonzalez’s deputy general counsel, Pete Wassdorf, in turn tried to defend Gonzalez, which he described as an inaccuracy of the Bush administration’s leniency process and incomplete description. Under Article 4, Section II, of the Texas Constitution, the Governor cannot grant pardons or commute sentences unless recommended by a majority of the Texas Pardon and Parole Board, so even if Bush wanted clemency, he was limited. Do so in one case. The fact remains that Governor Bush overturned only one death sentence, and Texas executed more prisoners during Gonzalez’s term than any other state.
White House counsel
As White House counsel and later attorney general, Gonzalez served President George W. Bush during a time of escalating controversy over the legality of U.S. counterterrorism policy. Gonzalez has approved the legal framework for the administration’s counterterrorism efforts and is a credible advocate for White House policy. He supports positions that expand executive powers and reduce protections for interrogation subjects. The rulings have been verbally challenged by many academics and human rights advocates, and partially overturned by the courts. He resigned following heavy criticism of his handling of the firing of nine U.S. attorneys and subsequent testimony at congressional hearings.
Fire the US Attorney
By law, U.S. Attorneys serve four-year terms, and each U.S. Attorney serves at the will of the President, who can remove him without cause, as long as it is not illegal or improper. reason. When Gonzalez became attorney general in 2005, he ordered performance reviews of all U.S. prosecutors. On December 7, 2006, the US Department of Justice notified seven US attorneys that they would be fired after the George W. Bush administration asked them to resign. Separately, Bud Cummins, who was informed of his dismissal in June 2006, was fired in 2006 after receiving notice of Tim Griffin’s appointment as interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Announced his resignation on December 15, effective December 20, 2006. In subsequent congressional hearings and news reports, it was revealed that in 2005 and 2006, additional U.S. attorneys were disputed dismissed without explanation to those dismissed, and that at least 26 U.S. attorneys at various times.. .
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