Former Republican U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales endorsed Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris, calling Republican Donald Trump the “biggest threat to the rule of law in a generation.”
Gonzales, the attorney general under President George W. Bush from 2005-07, is the latest in a torrent of Republicans endorsing Harris in recent weeks.
In a guest column for Politico published Thursday, Gonzales wrote, “There is little evidence that [Trump] has the integrity and character to responsibly wield the power of the presidency within the limits of the law. And no amount of rationalization to support Trump because of his policies can overcome the disqualification of this man based on his lack of integrity.”
He added the burden of “charges, convictions and judgments” against Trump in criminal and civil cases.
Gonzales, who was also White House counsel under President Bush from 2001-05, wrote that while the institutions, Congress and courts provide “guardrails” to the presidency, it’s “the president’s integrity, honesty and respect for our institutions that may be the most important and reliable check on abuses of power.”
“I can’t sit quietly as Donald Trump — perhaps the most serious threat to the rule of law in a generation — eyes a return to the White House,” he wrote.
Gonzales took aim at the Supreme Court decision to grant the president immunity for all official acts, which is too broad and open for interpretation.
“Power is intoxicating, and based on Trump’s rhetoric and conduct it appears unlikely that he would respect the power of the presidency in all instances; rather, he would abuse it for personal and political gain, and not on behalf of the American people,” Gonzales added.
Gonzales wrote that Americans have “lost confidence” in the Supreme Court but added that “the growing number of vicious attacks on the integrity of individual justices and the partisan criticism of the court as an institution is dangerous.”
While Gonzales said it’s “well past time” for the Supreme Court “to adopt a tougher ethics code of disclosure,” he said that imposing term limits, atop the wish list of congressional Democrats and Harris should she win, “threaten the court’s independence, and are arguably contrary to the principle of separation of powers.”
Gonzales’ endorsement of Harris follows that of former Bush Vice President Dick Cheney, his daughter and former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, Meghan McCain, daughter of former GOP Sen. John McCain, in addition to the more than 200 Republican White House and alums of GOP candidates who endorsed Harris last month.
There are others, including former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger, retiring Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, former White House press secretary under Trump Stephanie Grisham, and former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan.
“There are many lawyers who served in Republican administrations who share my concerns about the Republican nominee. All of us in the legal profession have a special obligation to abide by and to protect the rule of law. It is part of our oath to support the Constitution,” Gonzales wrote.