INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE WITH ALBERTO GONZALES, Moderated by Clay Johnson

Saturday, November 5, 10am, C-SPAN Tent

Location: C-SPAN2/ Book TV Tent
Booksigning: Immediately following at Main Book Signing Tent  (Congress near 11th Street) 

Authors: Alberto Gonzales

RSVP: Lisa.Giffen@belmont.com

“As a Christian, I grappled with the morality of any actions that hinted at treating another human being - even a known terrorist - inhumanely.”

It is no secret that life is filled with adversities; events happen that are hard to understand. During an especially difficult period while I was the attorney general, one of my former colleagues in the White House, a woman of strong Christian faith who was aware of my tenacious efforts to apprehend child predators, surprised me by her insight. "You are engaged in a battle between good and evil," she said. "Your cause is just, but there are evil forces at work against you." She helped me realize that the opposition to me was not merely political, but spiritual.

The lesson I took away from that conversation was that I was engaged in something much bigger than me; the target was much bigger than Alberto Gonzales. I knew I represented my friend George Bush, my department, and the entire administration. I also recognized that in some way I also represented Hispanics. I knew people of my ethnic background were watching carefully how I conducted myself under pressure. At the risk of being presumptuous or overly pious, I knew that as a Christian I also represented God, that He had placed me in the positions I held, so I wanted to walk worthy of Him, in integrity and dignity, believing always that someday, somehow, the truth would triumph.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 2, 2016

Former AG Alberto Gonzales’ New Book Discusses Trials and Hard Choices Ahead of 9/11 15th Anniversary

“As a Christian, I grappled with the morality of any actions that hinted at treating another human being - even a known terrorist - inhumanely.”

Washington, D.C. - Former Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales shares his account of grappling with the critical decisions that helped navigate the Bush Administration through national crisis, politics, and war in True Faith and Allegiance, A Story of Service and Sacrifice in War and Peace (Thomas Nelson, September 6, 2016).

True Faith and Allegiance is personal history from Alberto R. Gonzales, former Attorney General of the United States and former Counsel to the President—the only lawyer and only Hispanic to hold both these positions. It gives an insider’s account of a tumultuous, and still controversial, period of American history. Born to a working-class family in Humble, Texas, Gonzales grew up with his seven siblings in a modest two-bedroom home. His loving and devout parents taught him the conservative values of hard work and accountability that motivated Gonzales to pursue the highest standard of education - Harvard Law School - and later the highest echelons of power - the White House. He was a confidant to President George W. Bush, serving alongside him through the crucible of the 9/11 attacks. He further played a vital role in shaping the administration’s immediate response to protect America and the far-reaching steps to prevent further harm.

In True Faith and Allegiance, Gonzales offers his perspective on many challenges of the George W. Bush White House:

·         The immediate needs of the President as the nation looked for leadership and courage in the aftermath of 9/11, and how Gonzales’ faith helped him endure

·         Working with Congress to decide whether the United States was technically at war, deciding who the enemy was, and how to defeat them

·         Laying out the legal framework to go after supporters of terrorism post-9/11 and the role of the mysterious FISA court

·         How this new world war on terror demanded new tactics and responses, including the enhancement of the National Security Agency (NSA).

·         What really happened at Attorney General John Ashcroft’s hospital bed, and the national security implications regarding the nation’s terrorist surveillance program

·         The phantom leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame and her husband’s claim of retribution by Vice President Cheney for opposing the President over Iraq

·         Passionate debates in top-secret meetings with Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice on the war in Iraq and international involvement

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alberto R. Gonzales served as U.S. Attorney General and Counsel to the President in the George W. Bush administration. Before that, he served as Counsel to the Governor of Texas, Secretary of State of Texas and as a Justice on the Texas Supreme Court. He is an Air Force veteran who attended the U.S. Air Force Academy and he is a graduate of Rice University and Harvard Law School. Currently, he is the Dean and Doyle Rogers Distinguished Professor of Law at Belmont University College of Law in Nashville.

True Faith and Allegiance: A Story of Service and Sacrifice in War and Peace

By Alberto R. Gonzales

Thomas Nelson

On Sale Date September 6, 2016

496 pages

071807887X / $26.99 USD

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For more information or to schedule an interview with Judge Alberto Gonzales, please contact Tyler Bryant at tyler@javelindc.com or 703-490-8845.