March 29, 2007

Sampson Stands Up

The former top aide to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales defended his old boss in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning.

In his opening statement, CNN reports, Kyle Sampson said "the decisions to seek the resignations of a handful of U.S. attorneys were properly made, but poorly explained. This is a benign rather than sinister story, and I know that some may be indisposed to accept it. But it is the truth as I observed and experienced it."

Sampson resigned his position as Gonzales' chief of staff when the story about the firings of eight U.S. attorneys broke a few weeks ago. Gonzales directed attention toward Sampson, saying that he hadn't properly informed the Justice Department about the process of the firings.

In a prepared statement, however, Sampson denied that he intentionally withheld information. CNN has a PDF of the statement.

Posted at 10:57 AM
Posted to: Attorney Scandal
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