Uncertainty Grows Over Gonzales’s Job
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
WASHINGTON — Amid bipartisan calls for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’s resignation in a scandal over dismissals of eight federal prosecutors, the White House said yesterday, ” We hope he stays.”
When asked if Mr. Gonzales will serve for the rest of President Bush’s term, White House press secretary Tony Snow said, “Well, we hope so.”
Mr. Gonzales is under fire for the removal of eight U.S. attorneys and the bungled way their firings were explained to Congress.
Mr. Bush has expressed confidence in Mr. Gonzales and defended the removal of the prosecutors, but the president also voiced frustration that lawmakers were not provided straightforward information.
White House counselor Dan Bartlett said yesterday that Mr. Bush has full confidence in Mr. Gonzales and hopes he serves the remainder of his term. He said Mr. Gonzales had not offered his resignation.
Yesterday, the Justice Department planned to turn over to Congress documents that could provide more details of the role agency officials — including Mr. Gonzales — and top White House officials played in planning the prosecutors’ dismissals.
The White House was also expected to announce this week whether it will let political strategist Karl Rove and other officials testify in congressional hearings.
“The president said he’s got confidence in Al Gonzales,” Mr. Snow said. “This is not fact-gathering on whether to allow him to maintain his employment. We hope he stays.”
It remains unclear whether the president will allow some of his key aides to testify in congressional hearings. White House counsel Fred Fielding heads to Capitol Hill today to discuss the matter with Democratic and Republicans leaders of the House and Senate judiciary committees, Mr. Snow said.
“I think there’s been sort of an expectation of brinksmanship when, in fact, they haven’t really had those conversations,” Mr. Snow said.
Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee say the Bush administration needs to be clearer about the White House’s role in the dismissals of the federal prosecutors.
“I’ve told the attorney general that I think this has been mishandled, that by giving inaccurate information … at the outset, it’s caused a real firestorm, and he better get the facts out fast,” said Senator Cornyn, a Republican of Texas, on Sunday.
