ABC News reports:
New e-mails released this evening by the Justice Department reveal the depth of White House involvement in the discussions to fire eight U.S. attorneys last year. The thousands of pages of e-mails suggest the White House was involved in the plan from the beginning.
The e-mails detail conversations about attorneys targeted for dismissal. There are no e-mails from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who reportedly does not use e-mail, though the Justice Department says messages show some indication that Gonzales’ former chief of staff, D. Kyle Sampson, kept the attorney general apprised.
The House Judiciary Committee website is likely to have some of the emails in PDF form available tonight.
UPDATE: U.S. News reports: “One day after Justice Department Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty testified on Capitol Hill about the reasons eight U.S. attorneys were summarily fired, a Justice Department spokesman…sent an E-mail to Gonzales’ chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, and spokeswoman Tasia Scolinos saying Gonzales was unhappy with McNulty’s testimony regarding why U.S. attorney Bud Cummins of Arkansas had been let go. That E-mail is what is causing the most concern at the Justice Department.” During his hearing, McNulty had agreed that Cummins was fired even though “he had done nothing wrong” and was simply making way for Rove protege Tim Griffin.
UPDATE II: Justice Dept. official: “You have no idea how bad it is here.”