Gonzales Refuses To Say Whether More U.S. Attorneys Have Been Fired

New reports this week revealed that Todd Graves, the former U.S. Attorney from Missouri, was dismissed in January 2006, contradicting “repeated suggestions” by Alberto Gonzales and other senior Justice officials “that the firings did not extend beyond the eight prosecutors already known to have been forced out.”

During today’s House Judiciary Committee hearing, Gonzales refused to say whether any other U.S. Attorneys have been forced out of office but whose names are not yet public.

Under questioning from Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), Gonzales claimed he believed that Congress had no interest in any attorneys beyond the eight already identified. “It’s always been my understanding that this focus has been on the eight United States attorneys that were asked to resign last December 7th and June 14th,” he said.

But Gonzales left open the possibility that more U.S. Attorneys have been pushed out. He told Sanchez, “Throughout my tenure as attorney general and throughout the tenure of my predecessors and other attorney generals, U.S. attorneys have left the department for a number of — variety of reasons. So that happens.” Watch it:

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Transcript:

SANCHEZ: I thank the chairman.

Good morning, Mr. Gonzales.

Mr. Gonzales, you’ve consistently maintained that only eight U.S. attorneys were forced out of their positions. Yet today’s Washington Post states that there was a ninth, Todd Graves.

Are there any more U.S. attorneys that we should know about that were forced out?

GONZALES: Congresswoman, it’s always been my understanding that this focus has been on the eight United States attorneys that were asked to resign last December 7th and June 14th, including Bud Cummins.

SANCHEZ: Mr. Attorney General, with all due respect, in page two of your testimony that you’ve previously given, you stated that there were only eight that were forced out.

GONZALES: As part of this process — as part of this review process that I asked Mr. Sampson to conduct and which resulted in the culmination in December of ’06, these were the individuals that this process identified as where changes should be appropriate.

Now, clearly, throughout my tenure as attorney general and throughout the tenure of my predecessors and other attorney generals, U.S. attorneys have left the department for a number of — variety of reasons. So that happens.

SANCHEZ: Let’s stop there.