Justice Probe Still Threatens Gonzales

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McNulty testified in February 2006 that the firings were “performance related” and the decision to terminate the federal prosecutors was made solely by the Justice Department.

McNulty also said Goodling and Sampson withheld key information from him before he spoke to investigators and testified before Congress.

But Goodling disputed McNulty’s assertions, saying he was well aware the White House was involved in the decision to fire the U.S. Attorneys.

"I believe the deputy was not fully candid," Goodling said in testimony before Congress in May 2007. "The allegation is false, … I didn't withhold information from the deputy."

Goodling also told lawmakers she believed Gonzales tried to coach her before she testified by reviewing his recollection of the events that transpired around the time of the attorney firings.

Gonzales “proceeded to say, 'Let me tell you what I can remember,' and he laid out for me his general recollection ... of some of the process" of the firings, Goodling said.

When Gonzales finished, "he asked me if I had any reaction to his iteration," she added.

Goodling said the conversation made her feel uncomfortable because she knew she and Gonzales would be compelled to testify about the matter.

In April 2007, Gonzales had testified that he could not recall certain details related to the firings and that he was steering clear of witnesses such as Goodling so as not to influence their testimony.

"I haven't talked to witnesses because of the fact that I haven't wanted to interfere with this investigation and department investigations," Gonzales told the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Sampson also disputed a Gonzales statement at a March 13, 2007, news conference in which the Attorney General attempted to explain the firings by saying his chief of staff [Sampson] failed to brief him or his deputy, McNulty.

"I was not involved in seeing any memos, was not involved in any discussions about what was going on," Gonzales said.

However, Sampson testified that Gonzales’s statement was “not accurate.”

Documents released by the Justice Department last year showed that Gonzales and McNulty participated in an hour-long meeting with Sampson and three other officials on Nov. 27, 2006 — about two weeks before the U.S. Attorneys were fired — to review the plan to fire them.

Investigative Doubts

Iglesias said he did not have confidence at first that the joint investigation by the Justice Department IG and Office of Professional Responsibility was going to be conducted thoroughly.

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Jason Leopold is editor of the online investigative news magazine The Public Record, http://www.pubrecord.org, and the author of the National Bestseller, "News Junkie," a memoir. Visit www.newsjunkiebook.com for a preview. He is also a two-time (more...)

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