Bush Stands By Gonzales -- Again

WASHINGTON, March 31, 2007 — -- President Bush expressed his support for Alberto Gonzales for the second time in as many days today, insisting there is no evidence that the embattled attorney general broke any law.

"Attorney General Al Gonzales is an honorable and honest man, and he has my full confidence," President Bush told reporters at his retreat at Camp David, Md. "He will testify in front of Congress and he will tell the truth. … But I will remind you there is no credible evidence that there has been any wrongdoing."

Gonzales is accused of firing eight U.S. attorneys for political reasons and later claiming it was their performance that fell short.

Long criticized by Democrats who want him to step down, Gonzales has faced an erosion of support from Republicans. Today, Rep. Lee Terry of Nebraska became the latest Republican to call for Gonzales' ouster.

Perhaps more troublesome for the attorney general, few of the Bush administration's allies on Capitol Hill have come to his aid.

"The attorney general is in a position where either he lied directly about his involvement in what the Justice Department did, or he was clueless about what his own chief of staff was doing right underneath his own nose," said Norman Ornstein, of the American Enterprise Institute.

That chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, who resigned shortly after the controversy over the firings came to light, told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday that New Mexico's U.S. attorney, David Iglesias, was fired at the urging of White House political advisor Karl Rove.

"This is political," Iglesias told ABC news. "They should have said that at the very beginning."

The attorney general is also accused of playing a far greater role in firing the attorneys than he's disclosed, having denied during a recent press conference that he was in any meetings or discussions. He has since clarified that he approved the firings, but said he was not involved in the details.

Sampson, in his testimony, said Gonzales attended at least five briefings by Sampson on the subject.