Pushing out Prosecutors is Rare- Except for Bush Administration

A new report out today from the Congressional Research Service says firing US Attorneys for performance issues is more uncommon than Attorney General Alberto Gonzales would have Congress think. The report says only two US Attorneys have been fired by the President since 1981.

Meanwhile, the Bush Administration insists the sudden firing of seven US attorneys was not politically motivated and cites poor performance, although there has been no evidence that six of the seven terminated attorneys had performance issues. Senators such as California Democrat Dianne Feinstein say the attorneys' investigations into GOP members of Congress is the real reason they were fired.

Justice Department official Paul McNulty admitted at a Senate hearing that the Little Rock US Attorney H.E. Bud Cummins was asked to leave even though he had no performance issues. Cummins chosen replacement- Tim Griffin- was a former aide to Presidential adviser Karl Rove. Griffin recently pulled himself out of the position citing pressure from Senate Democrats.

The CRS report says of the attorneys who have left without finishing their term, three attorneys stepped down voluntarily after scandal broke. This includes Kendall Coffey, a Miami US Attorney who was accused of biting a stripper. Three more stepped down for reasons that the Congressional Research Service could not verify.