Comey was in the hospital room as well, and recounted to senators in testimony in May that he "thought I just witnessed an effort to take advantage of a very sick man, who did not have the powers of the attorney general because they had been transferred to me."
Ultimately, Ashcroft sided with Comey, and Gonzales and Card left the hospital after a five to six minute conversation.
Gonzales denied he and Card tried to pressure Ashcroft into approving the program over Comey's objections.
"We never had any intent to ask anything of him if we did not feel that he was competent," Gonzales told the Senate. "At the end of his description of the legal issues, he said, `I'm not making this decision. The deputy attorney general is.' And so Andy Card and I thanked him. We told him that we would continue working with the deputy attorney general and we left."
Democrats and Republicans alike expressed disbelief at Gonzales' version of events.
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