Senators Schumer and Feinstein today called for the Senate to formally express its lack of confidence in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

People For the American Way President Ralph G. Neas issued the following statement:

“On behalf of more than 40,000 Americans who have signed our petition calling for Alberto Gonzales to resign or be removed, I applaud Senators Schumer and Feinstein, and urge the Senate to pass a resolution of no confidence with all deliberate speed.

“Attorney General Gonzales’s credibility is in tatters. He cannot be allowed to pass the buck and escape responsibility for the activities of the Justice Department under his watch. We have now seen several high-level resignations from the Justice Department, but no sacrificial lamb can absolve Attorney General Gonzales of his accountability.

“Since he came to Washington with George Bush six years ago, Alberto Gonzales has shown a slavish devotion to advocating for the political and ideological interests of the President, regardless of the law or of any higher moral obligations. From warrantless wiretapping, torture, and imprisonment at Guantanamo to the improper political firings of U.S. Attorneys, Alberto Gonzales has helped the president to gut our most basic constitutional protections and then willfully misled Congress and the American people about his actions.

“This week’s bizarre revelations of his late-night visit to John Ashcroft’s hospital bed should be the last straw. The least he can do is to leave the Justice Department without further compromising its integrity.

“All members of Congress who support the Constitution and equal justice under law, without exception, should support a resolution of no confidence.”