White House considered firing all prosecutors

THE chief White House lawyer floated the idea of firing all 93 US attorneys at the start of President George W Bush’s second term, but the Justice Department objected and recommended the eight dismissals that have generated a political firestorm two years later.

The long-simmering feud erupted with the new revelations, causing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to cancel a planned trip yesterday amid calls from Congress for his ouster. Additionally, Mr Gonzales’ top aide, chief of staff Kyle Sampson, announced his resignation. The attorney general said he is “very appreciative” of Mr Sampson’s service, which began when Mr Gonzales was Mr Bush’s White House lawyer.

Mr Gonzales is facing the worst crisis of his tenure, with some critics charging the dismissals were part of a political purge that threatened the independence of the Justice Department that he heads.

Judiciary committees in both chambers of Congress are expected to deepen their investigations of the dismissals. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said that then-White House Counsel Harriet Miers raised with an aide to Mr Gonzales the prospect of asking all chief federal district prosecutors to resign in 2004 as a logical way to start a new term with a new slate of US attorneys.

Democrats in Congress have charged that the eight dismissals announced last December were politically motivated.