The Three Most Intriguing Words in Goodling's Testimony

"within the Department"

The phrase is on page 5 of her statement:

I can describe what I and others discussed as the reasons for [seven U.S. Attorneys'] removal, but I cannot guarantee that these reasons are the same as those contemplated by the final decisionmakers who requested the resignations of these U.S. Attorneys. I am not aware, however, of anyone within the Department ever suggesting the replacement of these attorneys in order to interfere with a particular case, or in retaliation for prosecuting or refusing to prosecute a particular case, for political advantage.

Keep in mind that this statement undoubtedly was written with Goodling's very careful attorney, John Dowd, over the course of several weeks, with meticulous attention to every detail. The addition of that qualifying phrase was not inadvertent -- there's a reason it was included.

Also, the final, additional qualifier is suspicious, too -- "for political advantage." One might conclude that Goodling would only add that phrase if she were aware of people (even in the Department) suggesting the removal of the attorneys in order to interfere with a particular case -- but if she did not presonally know whether the interference was designed "for political advantage."

Finally, there's the oddity of her (plural) reference to "the final decision makers." The final decisionmaker here, of course -- by law and in fact -- was the President of the United States. And he presumably took his cues from his trusted advisers in the White House. Therefore, as I've explained previously, "the current focus on the Attorney General is something of a distraction, at least insofar as Congress's objective is to determine whether anything unlawful or unconstitutional was involved in the U.S. Attorney dismissals. The real action was in the White House, and one cannot determine whether the removals were made for improper reasons unless one knows what Rove and Miers advised the President, and why they did so. But that's precisely the subject matter that Fred Fielding would put off-limits in his offer to allow questioning of those officials."