Flip flop --Bush turns on Gonzalez...his days may be numbered. TThe Presidnet admits to "mishandling". That, at least, is a start to getting this thing over with...
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Bush gives lukewarm endorsement to Gonzales By Matt Spetalnick
2 hours, 34 minutes ago
MERIDA, Mexico (Reuters) - President Bush gave a lukewarm endorsement on Wednesday to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, saying the firings of eight U.S. federal prosecutors had been mishandled.
"I'm frankly not happy about it," Bush told a joint news conference with Mexican President Felipe Calderon.
Democrats are calling for Gonzales to step down over the prosecutors' dismissals. His chief of staff Kyle Sampson's resignation was announced on Tuesday after he acknowledged he did not tell other Justice Department officials earlier about the extent of his communications with the White House about firing the U.S. attorneys.
The eight prosecutors were fired last year after Bush spoke to Gonzales about complaints that some of them were not energetically pursuing voter-fraud investigations.
The prosecutors serve at the pleasure of the president, but Democrats in the U.S. Congress accused the Bush White House of political motivations in the firings and expressed concern Gonzales had lied in saying there were not.
Asked about the issue for the first time, Bush said, "I do have confidence in Attorney General Al Gonzales" but that his long-time aide needed to go to Capitol Hill and straighten out the controversy.
"I've talked to him this morning. And we talked about his need to go up to Capitol Hill and make it very clear to members in both political parties why the Justice Department made the decisions it made; make it very clear about the facts," Bush said.
Bush said he had a right to remove U.S. attorneys, and had heard complaints about some of them that he had passed along to Gonzales. But he said he did not tell Gonzales who should be fired, although he believed the reasons for the sackings were justified.
"I believe the reasons why were entirely appropriate. And yet this issue was mishandled to the point, now, where you're asking me questions about it in Mexico," Bush said.
UP TO THE PRESIDENT
Gonzales appeared on morning TV shows where he said he was working to make sure Congress receives the information it needs to examine the matter, and brushed off calls that he resign.
"I work for the American people, and I serve at the pleasure of the president of the United States. That's a decision for the president to make," Gonzales told Fox News.
Administration officials have said then-White House counsel Harriet Miers had suggested to Sampson two years ago that the Justice Department fire all of the nation's 93 U.S. attorneys.
That was immediately rejected. The White House approved the idea of dismissing a smaller group, the officials said.
Newly released e-mails and other documents showed much closer coordination between the White House and the Justice Department on how to carry out the firings than department officials had previously acknowledged.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record) of Nevada joined other lawmakers in calling for Gonzales to leave and said on Tuesday, "It appears he's over his head in this job." |
