March 29, 2007

DOJ: Sampson Implicates Gonzales In Firings

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' former chief of staff contradicted his former boss during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today. Kyle Sampson said he remembered discussing the dismissals of the eight U.S. attorneys with Gonzales, and that Gonzales was present at a November meeting where the matter was discussed.

In fact, the AP reports that Sampson said Gonzales knew about the proceedings "from the beginning," in early 2005.

That contradicts Gonzales' repeated statements that he didn't know about the firings. Documents about the Justice Department meeting back up Sampson's testimony, the New York Times reports.

The Times -- which categorized Sampson as a "loyal aide to Mr. Gonzales until his recent resignation" -- summarizes the former aide's attitude, saying he "portrayed the firings as a good-faith but badly handled initiative, properly conceived but 'poorly explained.' He also apologized to his former Justice Department colleagues, and said news coverage of the matter had been 'deeply devastating' to himself and his family."

The senators on the committee reacted coolly. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., one of the leading voices on the matter, worried about fallout: "U.S. attorneys across the country do not know when another shoe may drop, whether they may be asked to resign for a bad reason."

Posted at 3:01 PM
Posted to: Attorney Scandal
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