Alberto Gonzales becomes the latest alumnus serving in the George W. Bush administration to endorse a Democrat Vice President Harris for President.
Gonzales, who described himself as “the only lawyer in American history to have served as both White House counsel and attorney general,” explained his stance in an editorial published in Politico on Thursday.
“As the United States approaches a crucial election, I cannot sit idly by as Donald Trump — perhaps the most serious threat to the rule of law in a generation — hopes to return to the White House. For this reason, although I am a Republican, I have decided to endorse Kamala Harris for President,” Gonzales wrote. “Power is intoxicating and based on Trump’s rhetoric and conduct it appears that he will not respect the power of the presidency in all matters; rather, he will abuse it for personal and political gain, not for the sake of the American people.”
Gonzales raised the issue 6-3 decision by the Supreme Court In Trump v. United States, the Court held that former presidents enjoy substantial immunity from prosecution for official – but not unofficial – acts committed while in office.
White House lawyer who advised Reagan and Bush backs Harris over Trump in 2024 election
President George W. Bush announces his nominee for Attorney General, White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales, on November 10, 2004. (Brooks Craft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images)
“The character of the person we elect in November is particularly important today because current members of the House of Representatives and Senate have proven either completely unable or unwilling to prevent abuses of executive power,” he wrote. “While the U.S. Supreme Court is certainly capable of curbing presidential power, the court has recently ruled that some restrictions on presidential actions would be unconstitutional.”
The question of presidential immunity stems from the case filed by special counsel Jack Smith against Trump on Jan. 6. Gonzales weighed in on Trump’s conduct during the riot at the U.S. Capitol, then returned to the decision, which has put several of the former president’s cases in limbo while he continues his campaign ahead of his November runoff against Harris.
“Any discussion about fidelity to the rule of law must include the following 34 state-level felony convictions against Trump“His state civil financial judgment for defamation based on sexual abuse, as well as the pending federal election interference case, not to mention the recently dismissed federal documents case that Special Counsel Jack Smith continues to work on,” Gonzales wrote. “Standing alone, these charges, convictions, and verdicts show that Trump is a man who repeatedly fails to act in accordance with the rule of law. There is little evidence that he has the integrity and character to responsibly wield the power of the presidency within the limits of the law. And no argument for supporting Trump because of his policies can overcome his disqualification based on this man’s lack of integrity.”
Acknowledging having spoken to Trump only once and not really knowing him, Gonzales said, “What is striking, however, is that several senior officials who worked for him in the White House are now refusing to support him, including his vice president, chief of staff, secretary of defense, and national security adviser.”
As for Harris, the former Bush official assessed that she does not have the same level of foreign policy experience as Biden.
Gonzales argued that Harris, who Biden administration’s border czarshould not be held responsible for Biden’s economic policies and the border crisis, writing that a vice president “has little or no influence over economic policy” and “can provide input, but it is the president who makes the final decisions.” He said Congress is as much to blame as Biden for the high prices of childcare, housing, gasoline, and groceries, while “Trump and his supporters in Congress bore partial responsibility for the difficult border situation when they killed bipartisan legislation to help Trump’s re-election chances.”
There was a debate between former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday. (Fox News screenshot)
“We don’t yet know exactly how Harris will govern if elected,” he wrote. “To cast a vote for Harris requires the American people to trust her character and judgment. Some may see her as too progressive and worry that she can be easily manipulated. However, there is no mystery or doubt about how Trump will act and govern based on past behavior and comments. He will help those who help him and his family for personal or financial reasons. He will likely step back from our leadership role among other democracies in the fight against authoritarianism.”
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“Meanwhile, Harris has sworn allegiance to the rule of law as a former local prosecutor and state attorney general,” Gonzales wrote.
Last month, a dozen Republican White House lawyers who served in the administrations of then-Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush endorsed Harris in a letter released after she formally accepted her nomination in a speech at the Democratic National Convention.
“We support Kamala Harris and support her election as president because we believe returning former President Trump to office would threaten American democracy and undermine the rule of law in our country,” the lawyers wrote in a letter, which the signatories first shared with Fox News Digital.
Alberto Gonzales speaks about Attorney General William Barr and the Mueller report during the American Bar Association (ABA) Young Lawyers Division Spring Conference in Washington, DC on May 3, 2019. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Joining the letter were two George W. Bush administration officials — John B. Bellinger III, senior associate counsel to the president and legal adviser to the NSC, and John M. Mitnick, associate counsel to the president and deputy counsel to the White House Homeland Security Council.
Dick Cheney, former vice president under George W. Bush, announced last week that he would support Harris, going against his party’s nominee in November.
In a statement, Cheney wrote, “In our country’s 248-year history, no individual has posed a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump. He tried to steal the last election, using lies and violence to keep himself in power even after voters rejected him. He can never be given power again.”
Shortly after Cheney’s announcement, Trump responded to Cheney’s endorsement by calling the former vice president an “irrelevant RINO” in a Truth Social post.
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A day later, George W. Bush’s office said neither the former president nor former first lady Laura Bush would publicly endorse any candidate in the 2024 election when asked by NBC News.
Fox News’s Michael Lee, Paul Steinhauser and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
