Gonzales rejects calls to step down

WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales took responsibility yesterday for "mistakes" related to the firing of eight US attorneys last year, but rejected calls for his resignation from Democrats who accuse him of misleading Congress.

"I acknowledge that mistakes were made here. I accept that responsibility," Gonzales said. He said he did not know the details of the plan to fire the prosecutors, but defended the dismissals: "I stand by the decision, and I think it was a right decision."

The remarks were made after the Justice Department released e-mails and other documents showing that, despite months of administration statements to the contrary, the White House more than two years ago initiated the process that led to the dismissals and that the decisions were heavily influenced by assessments of the prosecutors' political loyalty. President Bush and senior White House adviser Karl Rove also separately passed along complaints to Gonzales that prosecutors were not aggressively pursuing voter-fraud cases, officials said.

The revelations prompted another outcry on Capitol Hill over the firings and new demands for Gonzales's resignation from key Democrats, including Senators Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada and the majority leader; Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York; and Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts. Even Republicans who have supported the ousters sharply criticized the attorney general.

"It appears he's over his head in this job," Reid said.

But Gonzales said he is "here not because I give up," and White House counselor Dan Bartlett said the president has "all the confidence in the world" in Gonzales, who has served Bush for more than 12 years in Texas and Washington.

Democrats also renewed calls for testimony from Rove and Harriet Miers, the former White House counsel who first suggested in February 2005 that all 93 US attorneys be removed and whose office was provided with evolving lists of at least a dozen attorneys targeted for ouster. The White House signaled that it would resist the demands.

At least two of the e-mails released yesterday show that White House deputy political director J. Scott Jennings communicated with Justice officials in August about the appointment of Tim Griffin, a former Rove aide, to be the US attorney in Little Rock , Ark. Jennings used an e-mail account registered to the Republican National Committee, where Griffin had worked as an opposition researcher.

Democratic congressional aides said they will investigate whether using the private address for government business violated laws against using taxpayer resources for political work or signaled that White House officials considered the firing of US attorneys to be primarily a political issue. Jennings did not return a call to his office seeking a comment.

"As a matter of course, the RNC provides server space and equipment to certain White House personnel in order to assist them with their political efforts," said Tracey Schmitt, RNC spokeswoman.

Seven US attorneys were fired on Dec. 7 and another had been let go months earlier , all with little explanation from Justice Department officials, who later told Congress that the dismissals were related to their performance in office. Several former prosecutors have since alleged intimidation, including improper telephone calls from GOP lawmakers or their aides. Some former prosecutors have alleged threats of retaliation by a Justice Department official.

Although Bush and Bill Clinton each dismissed nearly all US attorneys upon taking office, legal specialists and former prosecutors say the firing of a large number of prosecutors in the middle of a term appears to be unprecedented and threatens the independence of prosecutors.

In defending themselves yesterday, Gonzales and the White House implicitly laid much of the blame for miscommunication with Congress on D. Kyle Sampson, who resigned Monday as Gonzales's chief of staff.

Gonzales, likening himself to a chief executive who delegates responsibility , said he knew few details about how Sampson was orchestrating the prosecutors' removal.