"Back in 2004, Dick Cheney and the Bush White House were desperate to get the Department of Justice to sign off on an extension to an NSA warrantless wiretapping program. Complicating matters was the fact that AG Ashcroft was in the ICU at George Washington University Hospital and had designated Deputy AG Jim Comey to be the acting AG while he was incapacitated."
"And make no mistake: Ashcroft *was* incapacitated. In broad strokes, no one just hangs out in an ICU - you're there because you are in bad shape and need constant observation and often constant medications/treatments. Most conversations that happen in an ICU are between the staff and the family, and less so with the patient, because the patient is less-than-competent because of their condition, their medications, or both."
"In early evening, the phone rang at the makeshift FBI command center at George Washington University Medical Center, where Ashcroft remained in intensive care. According to two officials who saw the FBI logs, the president was on the line. Bush told the ailing Cabinet chief to expect a visit from Gonzales and White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr..... Alerted by Ashcroft's chief of staff, Comey, Goldsmith and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III raced toward the hospital"
During 2004 White House leadership sought Department of Justice approval to extend an NSA warrantless wiretapping program while Attorney General John Ashcroft lay in intensive care. Ashcroft was incapacitated and had designated Deputy Attorney General Jim Comey as acting attorney general. The White House, aware that Comey opposed the extension, attempted to obtain Ashcroft's signature without Comey's knowledge. The president telephoned the hospital to notify Ashcroft of an expected visit from Alberto Gonzales and Chief of Staff Andrew Card. Ashcroft's chief of staff alerted Comey; Comey, Jack Goldsmith, and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III raced to the hospital, where Comey reached Ashcroft's bedside first.
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