CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) — President Bush insisted Monday that embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales still has his support and denounced Democratic plans for a no-confidence vote as "pure political theater."
"He has done nothing wrong," Bush said in an impassioned defense of his longtime friend and adviser during a news conference at his Texas ranch.
Despite Bush's comments, support for Gonzales is eroding, even in the president's own party. The Senate is prepared to hold a no-confidence vote, possibly by week's end, and five Republican senators have joined many Democrats in calling for Gonzales' resignation.
The attorney general is under investigation by Congress for last year's ousters of eight federal prosecutors.
He is also under fire for an alleged 2004 hospital visit, as White House counsel, to have the then-ailing Attorney General John Ashcroft certify the legality of Bush's controversial warrantless eavesdropping program. The visit was detailed last week by former Deputy Attorney General Jim Comey.
People are also reading…
In Washington, the Justice Department released a new batch of documents linked to the firings in anticipation of House testimony Wednesday by Monica Goodling, Gonzales' former counsel and White House liaison.
The Justice Department has maintained the firings — planned in part by Goodling — targeted underperforming U.S. attorneys. But Democrats believe they were politically motivated, and pointed Monday to e-mails between Goodling and White House political staffers about how to respond to the firestorm the dismissals created.
At one point, in mid-February, Goodling offered talking points and testimony by Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty as part of a White House effort to respond to a story in the online magazine Salon.
"Monica, other than the McNulty testimony, is any of this material public and can it be disseminated to Mark McKinnon?" White House aide Chris Oprison asked Goodling in a Feb. 15 e-mail. McKinnon was Bush's political media consultant and now works for the presidential campaign of John McCain.
"It is info we have given to friendlies on the Hill," Goodling responded. "It can all go."
The president told the Democrats to get back to more pressing matters. He did not directly answer a question about whether he intended to keep Gonzales in office through the end of his presidency regardless of what the Senate does.
"I stand by Al Gonzales, and I would hope that people would be more sober in how they address these important issues," Bush said. "And they ought to get the job done of passing legislation, as opposed to figuring out how to be actors on the political theater stage."
Gonzales does not necessarily need Congress' support to continue serving. But Bush and Gonzales are under increasing pressure as more lawmakers demand the attorney general's departure.
Democrats pressed ahead with plans to put the Senate on record in expressing a lack of confidence in him.
"The president should understand that while he has confidence in Attorney General Gonzales, very few others do," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in response to Bush's comments.
Gonzales leaves Tuesday for Europe, where he will attend the G-8 summit in Munich.
The new documents highlight the Justice Department's attempts to manage the firings controversy.
An undated document marked "PRIVACY ACT PROTECTED" offers responses to potential questions about why each fired prosecutor was dismissed. Its unidentified author suggests that former U.S. attorney Margaret Chiara in Grand Rapids, Mich., be rewarded for her public silence with minimal public criticism. However, the letter advised to describe Chiara as having "lost the confidence" of her staff if a more explicit answer was demanded.
A chart compiled by Goodling, dated Feb. 12, panned the leadership abilities of the eight fired prosecutors and compared them with years of mostly complimentary peer reviews each received.
For example, Seattle prosecutor John McKay showed a "pattern of insubordination, poor judgment, and demonstration of temperament issues," according to his leadership evaluation, which was compiled by Justice officials. His peer review, by contrast, called McKay "an effective, well-regarded, and capable leader."
Justice officials also highlighted New Mexico prosecutor David Iglesias, appearing to question why he was included among those fired.
"I didn't remember Iglesias being on list, but I could be mistaken," wrote Deputy Assistant Attorney General Rebecca Seidel to fellow Justice legislative aide Nancy Scott-Finan in a Dec. 19 e-mail about the resigning prosecutor's letter to his staff.
A month later, John Nowacki, a deputy in the Justice office that oversees U.S. attorneys, alerted fellow staffer David T. Best to "if you still have them, please hold the resignation letters from USA Iglesias to the President and the AG."
"If they've already gone, please let me know," Nowacki wrote.
