Democrats Pressing For Answers Regarding Firings Of U.S. Attorneys

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Democrats pressed for more answers on the firings of U.S. attorneys Thursday even as Attorney General Alberto Gonzales insisted he hasn't remembered any new details and Republicans

Thursday, May 10th 2007, 10:04 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Democrats pressed for more answers on the firings of U.S. attorneys Thursday even as Attorney General Alberto Gonzales insisted he hasn't remembered any new details and Republicans called for an end to the congressional probe.

``The list of accusations has mushroomed, but the evidence of wrongdoing has not,'' said Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, top Republican on the panel. ``We should not conduct an endless piscine expedition.''

Democrats showed no willingness to quit asking questions about whether White House officials ordered the firings of prosecutors not sufficiently loyal to the Bush administration.

``The department's most precious asset _ its reputation for integrity and independence _ has been called into question,'' Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., said as he opened the hearing. ``Until we get to the bottom of how this list was created, and why, those doubts will persist.''

The Senate had little luck finding the answers three weeks ago, when Gonzales answered dozens of times that he could not recall key details.

``My feelings and recollections about this matter have not changed,'' Gonzales told the panel Thursday.

In the three weeks since, the department disclosed that it is investigating whether his former White House liaison, Monica Goodling, weighed the political affiliations of those she considered hiring as entry-level prosecutors. Consideration of such affiliations could be a violation of federal law.

More of the fired U.S. attorneys also have told congressional investigators they were warned that if they publicly protested their dismissals, Justice Department officials would publicly criticize their performance. And there have been new allegations that U.S. attorneys were evaluated on their enthusiasm for pursuing voter fraud cases that might benefit Republican candidates.

Gonzales is expected to be asked about those developments Thursday in his first appearance before the House Judiciary Committee since Democrats took control of Congress.

Conyers is holding a subpoena for White House political adviser Karl Rove but has not issued it. Meanwhile, the Senate Judiciary Committee last week subpoenaed Gonzales for all e-mails the Justice Department has gathered regarding Rove and the firings.

Senators had little success in getting answers from the attorney general three weeks ago. In more than 70 responses to questions by members of the Senate panel, Gonzales said he could not recall or did not remember conversations or events surrounding the dismissals. Republican supporters were shaken by his performance, but President Bush issued a strong vote of confidence in him.

There was little indication that Gonzales planned to disclose much more. Asked Wednesday during a news conference whether he's refreshed his memory, Gonzales replied: ``I can only provide information as to what I know and to what I recall, and that's what I intend to do, as I have done in the past.''

Clearly, he's less under siege now. Republican calls for him to resign tapered off after Bush's strong reaffirmation of support for him, and lawmakers have turned their attention to a stalemate with the president over his order to increase troops in Iraq and their growing resolve to bring them home.

In prepared testimony, Gonzales said it's time to move on.

``Recent events must not deter us from our mission. I ask the committee to join me in that commitment and that rededication,'' he said, citing what he said were accomplishments in protecting national security and fighting pedophiles.

Meanwhile, the Senate Judiciary Committee has asked Bradley Schlozman, a former interim head of the Civil Rights Division at Justice, to speak with investigators about whether former U.S. Attorney Todd Graves in Kansas City was replaced because he refused to sign a federal lawsuit alleging voter fraud in Missouri a year before the 2006 election.

Graves, who resigned, said Wednesday he had no inkling he was on a list of attorneys targeted for replacement.

``When I first interviewed in 2001 with the United States attorney screening committee at DOJ, I was asked to give the panel one attribute that describes me,'' Graves said. ``I said 'independent.' Apparently, that was the wrong attribute.''

Gonzales, asked about Graves during a Michigan appearance on Tuesday, said: ``I'm not aware he was forced out.''