Fired Attorneys Fallout: Bush, Congress Want Gonzales' Clarification

March 14, 2007 — -- President Bush signaled his support for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales today but made a point of telling him to go to Capitol Hill and clean up the mess he's made. "I've talked to him this morning," Bush told the press traveling with him in Mexico. "And we talked about his need to go up to Capitol Hill and make it very clear to members in both political parties why the Justice Department made the decisions it made; make it very clear about the facts."

Growing criticism over the Justice Department's firing of eight U.S. attorneys came to a head yesterday with allegations of White House involvement and the resignation of Gonzales' top aide.

Gonzales took responsibility for the department's communication breakdown, saying, "I acknowledge that mistakes were made here. I accept that responsibility and my pledge to the American people is to find out what went wrong here, to assess accountability, and to make improvements so that the mistakes that occurred in this instance do not occur again in the future."

'Customary Practice by the Presidents'

The president said he's unhappy with those mistakes because they clouded what he sees as a simple issue. "There is a lot of confusion over what really has been a customary practice by the presidents. U.S. attorneys and others serve at the pleasure of the president." Bush admitted he had passed along complaints about some U.S. attorneys to Gonzales, but never "brought up a specific case, nor gave him specific instructions." Even with controversy over the means, Bush stands by the end, saying, "The Justice Department recommended a list of U.S. attorneys. I believe the reasons why were entirely appropriate."

But the president and the White House are not supposed to interfere with Justice Department criminal investigations, which Democrats maintain the administration did.

Today Democrats continued to hammer away, pointing to a string of e-mails between Gonzales' top aide D. Kyle Sampson, who resigned yesterday amid the controversy, former White House counsel and Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, and other high-ranking officials in both the White House and the Justice Department. Critics on Capitol Hill suggest the recent firings may have targeted U.S. attorneys for strictly political reasons.

'The Real Problem We Have Right Now'

One e-mail involves former U.S. Attorney Carol Lam of San Diego — one of the eight fired last year. Lam's performance review noted some problems with immigration enforcement but otherwise described her as "an effective manager and a respected leader in [her] district."

Lam successfully prosecuted California Republican Rep. Duke Cunningham for corruption; he's now serving time in prison for his crimes. But last May, on the day a report in the Los Angeles Times indicated Lam was turning her investigation toward another Republican congressman, Sampson e-mailed a Miers staff member, writing, "Please call me at your convenience to discuss. ... The real problem we have right now with Carol Lam that leads me to conclude that we should have someone ready to be nominated on 11/18, the day her four-year term expires."

Lam was fired seven months later, and testified to Congress "we were given little or no information about the reason for the requests for our resignations."

David Schertler, a former federal prosecutor, said Lam's firing appears to fly in the face of Justice Department tradition. "In the past, where you've had a U.S. attorney working on a politically sensitive case, the department has almost taken a hands-off approach, so that there'd not be any appearance of impropriety or improper influence on that U.S. attorney who had to make decisions about who to prosecute and what to prosecute."

Performance reviews of other fired attorneys described one as a "well regarded and capable leader," while another was said to have developed "a well conceived strategic plan that complied with department priorities and reflected the needs of the district."

Dems Say Firings 'Were All Political'

"They [the attorneys] should not be sent packing on a whim," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. "Especially when the circumstances suggest that their departures may have been motivated by politics."

"First of all, he's not telling the truth. These were all political," charged Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. "Never in the history of the country has anything like this ever happened. What is done is untoward, it is wrong, it is unethical, it's immoral. I believe it's illegal, and Gonzales should be fired or he should resign."

The president addressed criticism about political motivations Wednesday morning by dismissing it. "I've heard those allegations about, you know, political decision-making," Bush said. "It's not true."

GOP Senator Calls on Bush to Fire Gonzales

But now, even Republicans are jumping into the fray. Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., became the first Republican to call for Gonzales' removal. "The president should fire the attorney general. That's what is in the president's interest and the country's interest," he told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos. Sununu further criticized the "back and forth" e-mails between Sampson and the White House, saying, "This shows a lack of discipline and supervision in the attorney general's office."

Congress is gearing up for more hearings on the matter, and is expected to hear from Gonzales yet this week. The attorney general and the fired attorneys also testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in January.

Today, Judiciary Committee member Schumer said Congress wants to hear from White House adviser Karl Rove, Miers and members of their respective staffs — and doesn't want the White House to keep them from testifying. "Right now, public confidence in the Justice Department is dangerously shaken," Schumer said. "The president should act now to clear the air once and for all."