SCOOP NEWS LINKS:
Gonzales Says ‘Mistakes Were Made’
in Firing of Prosecutors
By DAVID
STOUT
Published: March 13, 2007
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Last October, President Bush spoke with Mr. Gonzales to pass along concerns by Republicans that some prosecutors were not aggressively addressing voter fraud, the White House said Monday. Senator Pete V. Domenici, Republican of New Mexico, was among the politicians who complained directly to the president, according to an administration official.
The president did not call for the removal of any specific United States attorneys, Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman, said Monday. She said she had “no indication” that the president had been personally aware that a process was already under way to identify prosecutors who would be fired.
But Ms. Perino disclosed that White House officials had consulted with the Justice Department in preparing the list of United States attorneys who would be removed.
Within a few weeks of the president’s comments to the attorney general, the Justice Department forced out seven prosecutors.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/13/washington/13attorneys.html
Gonzales Again Called Upon to
Resign
By Richard B. Schmitt
The Los
Angeles Times
Tuesday 13 March 2007
Washington - A top Senate Democrat today called for the resignation of Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales, charging that he had deceived Congress in the widening scandal over the Justice Department's politically charged firing of U.S. attorneys.
One day after D. Kyle Sampson, Gonzales' chief of staff, resigned, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the resignation "does not take the heat off the attorney general. In fact, it raises the temperature."
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http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/031307R.shtml
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-sampson14mar14,0,4705116.story
Firings Had Genesis in White
House
By Dan Eggen and John Solomon
The Washington Post
Tuesday 13 March
2007
Ex-Counsel Miers first suggested dismissing prosecutors two years ago, documents show.
The White House suggested two years ago that the Justice Department fire all 93 U.S. attorneys, a proposal that eventually resulted in the dismissals of eight prosecutors last year, according to e-mails and internal documents that the administration will provide to Congress today.
The dismissals took place after President Bush told Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales in October that he had received complaints that some prosecutors had not energetically pursued voter-fraud investigations, according to a White House spokeswoman.
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http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/031307A.shtml
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/12/AR2007031201818.html
Congress Demands Rove Testimony on
Attorney Firings
By Paul Kane
The
Washington Post
Monday 12 March 2007
Congressional committees are now demanding the testimony of President Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, in the burgeoning investigation into the reasons behind the unusual firings of eight U.S. attorneys last year.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has helped lead the Senate Judiciary Committee's examination of the dismissals of the federal prosecutors, cited new reports connecting Rove to those who wanted to oust at least one of the U.S. attorneys.
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http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/031307J.shtml
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/12/AR2007031201148.html