Porn firms are wary of Gonzales.

Judging by John Ashcroft's Draconian reputation inside the adult entertainment industry, one would suspect that his November resignation would have engendered a celebration similar to the munchkins in the Wizard of Oz discovering that Dorothy's house had just fallen upon the wicked witch. But the industry is not rejoicing.

Casting a wary eye towards Ashcroft's expected replacement, Alberto F. Gonzales, and the increasingly-conservative climate in Washington D.C., members of the adult entertainment community are bracing themselves for turbulent times ahead.

"Gonzales is an unknown quantity. He hasn't ever spoken publicly about the adult industry and other related free-speech matters," Mark Kernes, senior editor at Chatsworth-based Adult Video News, said. "I can't imagine that the Bush administration will appoint anyone friendly to our industry to the post. There are lots of troubling things about Gonzales, most notably the torture memo that he authored. A guy who tries to figure out a way around the Geneva Convention could easily try to work his way around the First Amendment."

In January of 2002, Gonzales authored an advisory memo to President George W. Bush supporting the administration's claim that the Geneva Conventions and even a U.S. anti-war crimes act did not apply to certain prisoners taken as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. In the memo, Gonzales referred to the Convention's strict limitations on questioning of enemy prisoners as "obsolete."

Ashcroft had roused the ire of the porn industry with his frequent threat of prosecutions, as well as planned changes to rules under the so-called 2257 regulations. The 2257 regulations relate to record-keeping and labeling laws in the adult entertainment industry. Ashcroft's most prominent action against the industry was the indictment of the owners of Extreme Associates, a Pennsylvania-based company that had broadcast over the Internet, explicit sex scenes coupled with simulated rapes.

"Gonzales has shown himself to be extremely political. He will likely be responsive to the needs of the White House who will probably use him to reward their Christian fundamentalist base. I can't think of an easier way to do that than to attack the adult industry," Jeffrey Douglas, an attorney for the Free Speech Coalition, the adult entertainment's advocacy group, said.

"The real push to attack the adult industry is coming from a group of extremists in Congress that have pushed for millions in funds to pay for 25 additional lawyers, whose essential mandate is to attack the industry. The lawyers reported to Ashcroft and together they helped to generate new regulations that are totally appalling. We're waiting for them to be finalized. Litigation will likely follow."

Renewed effort

Indeed the United States Justice Department signaled that little is likely to change under Gonzales' leadership.

"There has been a renewed effort to prosecute obscenity in the past four years. Ashcroft identified and set up the structure to do so. There had been a lapse in prosecutions and the attorney general sorted out the resources to prosecute them. There have been several high profile cases thus far," Bryan Sierra, a spokesman for the U.S Department of Justice said. "As far as I know, that effort will continue. We will try to identify areas where there could be prosecutions."

Sierra said the department is working with the FBI to try to identify cases where obscenity is being manufactured or illegally distributed. There are several cases already in the pipeline.

"The effort to renew obscenity charges may have been led by Ashcroft but it's not going to end," Sierra said.

Chatsworth's Wicked Pictures' strategy to avoid prosecutions is to take great lengths to prove compliance towards the stringent requirements laid out by the Justice Department.

"We're compliant with the 2257 laws in terms our record-keeping and every other practice. We try to comply with the law in every way. Obviously the outcome of the election was very important and watched by us in great detail. We haven't heard much about Gonzales' agenda but I definitely think we are definitely compliant to create the most tasteful erotica and to keep the most meticulous records possible," Daniel Metcalf, the director of publicity for Wicked Pictures, said.