Gonzales's testimony leaves senators frustrated

Not recalling key dates and meetings, the US attorney general says he had a 'limited' role in the controversial firing of eight federal attorneys.

from the April 20, 2007 edition

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That's because he didn't realize those discussions might have a bearing on which attorneys would eventually appear on the dismissal list, according to Gonzales. "I did not view [them] at the time as part of the review process," said Gonzales.

The discussions were just part of his overall job of managing the department, said Gonzales.

Overall, his role in the firings was "limited," said the attorney general. He did make the overall decision to go forward with the dismissals, but when he did so, he hadn't reviewed the performance records of the prosecutors who were about to lose their jobs.

Asked when he'd made the firing decision, Gonzales testified that he could not recall the specific date.

Many of the attorney general's replies were framed with the care of a veteran attorney, which of course Gonzales is. That gave some of them a disconcerting ring.

"I now understand there was a conversation with myself and the president," said Gonzales at one point.

The attorney general acknowledged that his calender listed a Nov. 27, 2006, meeting with top Justice officials at which the firings were discussed. But "I have no recollection of that meeting," said Gonzales.

Gonzales retains friends in the Senate. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R) of Utah, among others, defended him during his April 19 appearance.

But many Republicans on the panel were critical of Gonzales's performance or the firings in general.

"It's clear to me that some of these [fired attorneys] just had personality conflicts with people in your office or the White House," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) of South Carolina.

"The Department of Justice needs a vigorous leader. I don't think we'll have a vote to remove him, but he'll have to evaluate how effective he thinks he can be," said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R) of Alabama.

Gonzales deserves more time to show he can still do his job, said Senator Sessions. "He deserves to have the ink dry [on the hearing transcript] a little bit."

• Staff writer Gail Russell Chaddock contributed to this report. Material from wire services was also used in this report.

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