In today's dead-tree Milw. Journal-Sentinel
Edit:
From the [link|http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-congress-prosecutors,1,6628932.story?coll=chi-news-hed|Chicago Tribune]
WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales accepted responsibility Tuesday for mistakes in the way the Justice Department handled the dismissal of eight federal prosecutors but he rejected calls for his resignation.
At a Justice Department news conference, Gonzales said he would find out why Congress was not told sooner that the White House was involved in discussions of who would be fired and when. He did not, however, back away his stance that the dismissals that did take place were appropriate.
"I stand by the decision and I think it was the right decision," Gonzales said.
Democrats in Congress have charged that the eight dismissals announced last December were politically motivated and that some of those ousted have said they felt pressured by powerful Republicans in their home states to rush investigations of potential voter fraud involving Democrats.
Justice Department officials, led by Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, told lawmakers under oath that the decision to fire eight U.S. attorneys in December was made solely by the Justice Department and said the decision was based on performance, not politics.
E-mails released Tuesday, however, revealed that the firings were considered and discussed for two years by Justice Department and White House officials. [emphasis added]
...
A Justice Department official said Tuesday that [Harriet] Miers, in a February 2005 discussion with Sampson, suggested firing all of the U.S. attorneys. Snow described the idea as a move to get fresh faces in the 4-year term jobs, and said that it was not a firm recommendation by Miers.
The e-mails show that [Kyle] Sampson [Gonzales's top aide, who resigned today] rejected the idea to fire all of the prosecutors but spent the next year drawing up a list of potential dismissals. On Jan. 9, 2006, Sampson sent Miers a memo listing what the official described as roughly 10 names of prosecutors who were viewed as underperforming in their jobs.
<gun type=smoking /> The question is, does anybody care anymore, or have we all become so inured against the foibles of this "administration" that nothing has the power to rile anymore?
