Top Aide To Gonzales Agrees To Testify
Former Aide To Attorney General Will Appear At Senate Inquiry Into Firings Of 8 U.S. Attorneys
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Play CBS Video Video Showdown In Washington Congress authorized subpoenas for Harriet Miers and Karl Rove, but the White House has refused to budge as the conflict over the DOJ firings heated up in the nation's capital. Jim Axelrod reports.
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Video Gonzales Hits The Road Attorney General Gonzales began a cross-country tour on which he will attempt to explain the DOJ firings, and a Senate panel asked for testimony from White House aides. Gwen Belton reports.
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Video Gonzales: I Will Not Resign CBS News RAW: U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told reporters he will not resign from his post at the Justice Department, adding that no U.S. attorneys were fired improperly.
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Attorney General Alberto Gonzales speaks at a news conference at the Justice Department. His former aide Kyle Sampson, who resigned last week amid the furor over the dismissals, will appear next Thursday at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Getty Images)
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"He was right at the center of things," Sen. Chuck Schumer, a Democrat who is leading the inquiry into the firings, said of Gonzales' former aid Kyle Sampson. (AP /APTN)
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Who's Who Firings Firestorm Justice Department at center of controversy over firing of eight U.S. attorneys.
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Interactive The Bush Cabinet A look at departures, new nominees and long-standing members of the president's staff.
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Interactive 110th Congress The balance of power shifts and new leadership takes control as the latest session convenes.
Kyle Sampson, who resigned last week amid the furor over the dismissals, will appear next Thursday at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, his attorney said. His appearance will mark the first congressional testimony by a Justice Department aide since the release of thousands of documents that show the firings were orchestrated, in part, by the White House.
Sampson "looks forward to answering the committee's questions," wrote his attorney, Brad Berenson, in a two-paragraph letter to Committee chairman Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, and the panel's top Republican, Arlen Specter.
"We trust that his decision to do so will satisfy the need of the Congress to obtain information from him concerning the requested resignations of the United States attorneys," Berenson wrote.
E-mails between the White House and the Justice Department, dating back to the weeks immediately after the 2004 presidential election, show Sampson was heavily engaged in deciding how many prosecutors would be replaced, and which ones. The Bush administration maintains the dismissals of the eight political appointees were proper.
While Mr. Bush has publicly expressed his support for the embattled Attorney General, Gonzales has a morale problem inside his Justice Department, CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reports. Some officials are increasingly worried that the scandal surrounding the firing of eight federal prosecutors has become a distraction for the other U.S. Attorneys who are supposed to be fighting crime.
Democrats question whether the eight fired prosecutors were selected because they were not seen as, in Sampson's words, "loyal Bushies."
"He was right at the center of things," Sen. Chuck Schumer, a Democrat who is leading the inquiry into the firings, said of Sampson. "He has said publicly that what others have said is not how it happened. ... He contradicts DOJ."
Schumer said he hoped Sampson would provide more detail about who initiated the firings and whether they were politically motivated.
Sampson's agreement to testify next week came a few hours after Sen. John Conyers summoned White House Counsel Fred Fielding to Congress to discuss the dispute over whether and under what conditions Mr. Bush's top aides will tell their stories to Congress.
The two did not delve into specific proposals for Mr. Bush's aides, but Cornyn said he urged Fielding to release as much information related to the prosecutor firings as possible, warning that he wanted "no surprises" to emerge.
"I told him, 'Everything you can release, please release. We need to know what the facts are,' " Cornyn said.
Also Friday, the Justice Department said it had found additional e-mails, calendar pages and other documents about the dismissals and was working to send them to the House and Senate panels that oversee the Justice Department. It was unclear when those documents would be delivered.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 21 CommentsThe problem is, the Democrats are going to look really bad when this is all over.
Posted by One_American at 07:57 PM : Mar 23, 2007
How is that? Even IF you assume your best out come. That there is some REASON for all the LIES and Deception, how doe the Democrats look bad. I can't see how anyone can justify LYING to the United States Senate but that's what Gonzo did so how do the Democrats look bad by doing their jobs? Isn't it the job of the senate to apply OVERSIGHT to the Justice Department? The problem is you Fascist became so used to your own, DO NOTHING Congress, you do not understand one that actually DOES it's job.
The story of what happened and why and how it happened is already in the fourth or fifth revision. As facts have emerged, the story changed, which is further proof that sworn testimony is needed. They have proved that one can't simply depend upon the honor or integrity of the white house staff to insure truthfulness.
The story of what happened and why and how it happened is already in the fourth or fifth revision. As facts have emerged, the story changed, which is further proof that sworn testimony is needed. They have proved that one can't simply depend upon the honor or integrity of the white house staff to insure truthfulness.
http://www.chitraragavan.com/usnews/25MZM.pdf
It details some of the branches of the poisonous tree involving Cunningham and suggests areas to investigate. She knew there were others who should be prosecuted. Removing a US Attorney frequently ends ongoing investigations. Without the push from the top of the office, investigations often just wind down and die of their own weight, especially if the are unpopular in DC. Cunningham didn't get his millions in bribes without a lot of other people playing along who richly (no pun intended) deserve prosecution. Any continuation of the investigation will be because of all the flap.
Iglesias had the nerve not to get indictments against Dems for voter fraud AND dare tell Domenici & Heather Wilson that he didn't expect indictments before the election. Domenici is so sure that nothing was inappropriate that he hired a "top gun" defense attorney before they were all taken. Both these "Honorable" representatives from New Mexico repeatedly denied making calls to him about the cases until they knew he was going to testify under oath.
http://www.chitraragavan.com/usnews/25MZM.pdf
It details some of the branches of the poisonous tree involving Cunningham and suggests areas to investigate. She knew there were others who should be prosecuted. Removing a US Attorney frequently ends ongoing investigations. Without the push from the top of the office, investigations often just wind down and die of their own weight, especially if the are unpopular in DC. Cunningham didn't get his millions in bribes without a lot of other people playing along who richly (no pun intended) deserve prosecution. Any continuation of the investigation will be because of all the flap.
Iglesias had the nerve not to get indictments against Dems for voter fraud AND dare tell Domenici & Heather Wilson that he didn't expect indictments before the election. Domenici is so sure that nothing was inappropriate that he hired a "top gun" defense attorney before they were all taken. Both these "Honorable" representatives from New Mexico repeatedly denied making calls to him about the cases until they knew he was going to testify under oath.
The claim of exec privilege is supposed to protect his conversations and advice. If he can't tell us if he even made decisions how can anyone tell if a claim is even meaningful? Legally, it doesn't matter because he waived his claim to this privilege by making Rove and company available at all, so the ground rules are a separate matter and not up to him.
Why don't you ask Tony Snow,What did the President know and what did the decider decide?
He has the right to hire and fire for legitimate reasons(not to obstruct justice)but he also has the responsibility to be able to answer personnally for those decisions. Everyone else from Justice up to Rove has no right to hire and fire, and also needs to be able to explain their role.Politics is one thing, undermining prosections is quite another!
The problem is, the Democrats are going to look really bad when this is all over.
Posted by One_American at 07:57 PM : Mar 23, 2007
Please tell me you aren't this simple minded? PLEASE!! IF the case was as you say why the HELL did this guy resign. No Sparky you'd better hang on to that swastika REAL tight because I KNOW Gonzo, Cheney and Sir Lies-A-Lot were using the Justice Department as their own little reward system for those who "Support" the Party and their little method of applying Heat to those who did NOT support the "Party". Now to Fascist like yourself that's probably okay but in this GREAT LIBERAL NATION call America it's VERY Illegal and has been for a VERY LONG time. LOL They are covering up and this guy will bring that all out in the open. You Sparky are in for a very long and rough ride here... very long and very rough indeed. LOL Maybe you should order a couple Iron Cross's to back up the Swastika's you have.... You are going to need them!! Sieg Heil
- fired U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton, who wouldn't prosecute pot-smuggling cases unless they were above 500 pounds.
- fired San Diego U.S. attorney Carol Lam was under fire for failing to prosecute illegal alien criminals
- fired San Francisco federal prosecutor Kevin Ryan, who was put on the termination list when a Democrat Judge threatened to make a stink about Ryan's poor performance.
- fired U.S. Attorney John MacKay, who refused to investigate the highly suspicious 2004 Governor's race in Washington State, where Democrats protested the vote & they kept recounting the votes, until they found a mysterious box of uncounted votes in a warehouse, and Liberal Democrat Christine Gregoire won by less than 200 votes.
It's good that this will all come to light with the help of the Democrats.
The problem is, the Democrats are going to look really bad when this is all over.
The White House is adamant that its advisers retain the right, if they so choose, to lie ... without consequence. It's executive privilege. ... If Karl Rove knew he'd one day be forced to testify under oath about the advice he gave the president, he'd have to limit that advice to things that weren't shameful, illegal, or spectacularly bone-headed.
After Congress subpoenaed presidential adviser Karl Rove, President Bush said he will allow Rove to answer questions, but not under oath. The president said, "I'm all for him talking as long as he doesn't have to tell the truth."
What Bush and Co. are selling:
"We have done nothing wrong but we don't want to speak about that on record because we have nothing to hide."
"If we talk to Congress about this afair it must be behind closed doors and we must pick who will be in the room and the questions to be asked because we have nothing to hide."
"Our offer is very generous."
Are you buying?
I very much hope I can listen to the testimony. Sampson will be under oath and speaking for the record. He appears to be someone not willing to fall on his sword for the "team". I sincerely hope he testifies truthfully and completely. If Shummer is right, than even the Republicans will join the Democrats on this issue.
What fun!
He told America He wanted to close it down --- Wrong, The only reason it is there is for Bush/Cheney/Gonzales ----- Rice & Gates say shut it down.
Let's get this party started!
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See all 21 Comments