Embattled US attorney general Alberto Gonzales said today he was resigning as of September 17th but gave no reason for his sudden decision to depart after months of controversy.
In a statement at the Justice Department, Mr Gonzales (51) thanked President George W. Bush for his friendship and said despite his own troubles, he considered it a great privilege to have led the department.
US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is sworn in to testify about the firing of U.S. Federal Prosecutors before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Photograph Jim Young/Reuters
"I have lived the American dream," Mr Gonzales, the son of migrant workers, said. "Even my worst days as attorney general have been better than my father's best days."
His departure ends a tenure marked by almost continuous controversy over civil liberties, the firings of US prosecutors and whether he was truthful with Congress.
But President Bush today lashed out at critics of Mr Gonzales for unfair treatment and dragging his name "through the mud."
Mr Bush, before leaving Texas to attend Republican fund-raisers, called Mr Gonzales a man of integrity, decency and principle, and said he had reluctantly accepted the resignation, which came "after months of unfair treatment that has created a harmful distraction at the Justice Department."
"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," he added
Mr Gonzales worked for Mr Bush when he was governor of Texas in the 1990s. He served as White House lawyer in Mr Bush's first term as president before becoming the first Hispanic attorney general in February 2005.
Current and former administration officials had said the department's integrity had been damaged under Mr Gonzales, with controversy over the firing of the prosecutors and his support for Mr Bush's warrantless domestic spying programme.
They said that morale among staff at the Justice Department had been hurt and Mr Gonzales's relations with the Democratic-controlled Congress had deteriorated beyond repair.
Several senators had said they had lost confidence in Mr Gonzales and his ability to head the Justice Department.
While acknowledging mistakes in the handling of the dismissals, Mr Gonzales had denied the firings were politically motivated to influence federal inquiries involving Democratic or Republican legislators.
Mr Bush has defended Mr Gonzales and cited his rise as an achievement for Hispanics, the largest minority in the United States.
The attorney general also drew fire from civil liberties groups for writing in January 2002 that parts of the half-century-old Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war were "obsolete" and that some provisions were "quaint."
He also was criticised for Mr Bush's warrantless domestic spying programme adopted after the September 11th attacks. Only in January, in an abrupt reversal, Mr Gonzales finally said the programme would be subject to court approval.