WASHINGTON — As he steps out on a speech-giving tour at college campuses, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales soon may wish he were still talking to hostile congressional committees.
Gonzales, who resigned under fire two months ago from the Justice Department, was booed, heckled and called a criminal and a liar by students while giving a speech this week at the University of Florida.
At one point, someone wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and a black hood calmly walked onstage and stood next to Gonzales as he was speaking.
For his part, Gonzales defended the Bush administration’s treatment of terror suspects and did not engage the rowdy crowd, which included supporters as well.
“No one is perfect,” he said. “What is important is that we identify our mistakes and correct them.”
It was Gonzales’ first steps on a trail well trod by former politicians and celebrities: speeches for cash. For his appearance Monday in Gainesville, Fla., Gonzales earned $40,000. He’ll make another $30,000, plus an additional $5,000 in travel, reception and security expenses, at a Feb. 19 speech at Washington University in St. Louis.
Neil Patel, president of the undergraduate students’ association at Washington University, said his campus invited Gonzales when approached by a speaker’s bureau seeking audiences for him.
“One of our goals this year was to make the campus politically active,” said Patel, 21, a Miami native. “We figured we’d try to get into the activism early and bring in a speaker who would incite a lot of discussion and probably bring a lot of dissent.”
Campus groups relying on student fees generally bankroll such speeches and “it was kind of difficult finding student groups who were willing to support him,” Patel said.
Despite any discomfort the speeches may bring Gonzales, their payoff comes as he faces mounting legal costs for an investigation into whether he mismanaged the Justice Department. The department’s internal inquiry is looking into allegations that he lied to lawmakers and illegally allowed politics to influence hiring and firing at the department.
Additionally, his friends and former associates are collecting donations — and reportedly seeking contributions ranging from $500 to $5,000 — for a legal defense fund should he need it.
The controversy surrounding Gonzales does have an up side: It ensures he’ll remain a well-known name and help bolster his appeal as a speaker.
