Washington – Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ liaison with the White House will refuse to answer questions at Senate hearings about the firings of eight U.S. attorneys, citing her Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination, her lawyer said Monday.
“I have decided to follow my lawyer’s advice and respectfully invoke my constitutional right,” liaison Monica Goodling said in a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The revelation complicated the outlook for Gonzales, who is out of town this week as he fights to keep his job. He was in Denver on Monday.
In an interview with NBC News, Gonzales said Monday he was “really pained” by Republicans and Democrats who widely say the attorney general has lost his credibility.
Asked why he would want to remain as attorney general amid so many calls for his ouster, Gonzales said he has been asking himself lately whether it’s appropriate for him to stay.
But, he said, “at the end of the day, it’s not about Alberto Gonzales. It’s about this great Department of Justice that does so many wonderful things for the American people.”
Nonetheless, the news was not good for Gonzales.
The House voted 329-78 Monday to strip the attorney general of his power to indefinitely appoint federal prosecutors, approving a bill similar to one passed in the Senate. President Bush, who is standing by Gonzales, has signaled that he will not veto the legislation.
Meanwhile, another Republican added his criticism to the growing chorus.
“His word is tarnished,” Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, said of Gonzales.
Goodling’s statement contradicted her boss’ promise to allow his top aides to testify before Congress, voluntarily and under oath.
John Dowd, Goodling’s lawyer, suggested in a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., that the Democrat-led panel has laid what amounts to a perjury trap for his client.
Goodling was key to the Justice Department’s political response to the growing controversy. She took a leave of absence last week.
“One need look no further than the recent circumstances and proceedings involving Lewis Libby,” Dowd said, a reference to the recent conviction of Vice President Dick Che ney’s former chief of staff in the CIA leak case.
Democrats allege the firings were a purge of those deemed by the Justice Department not to be “loyal Bushies” – and a political warning to other prosecutors to fall in line with the administration. Gonzales has denied that.
He is not scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee until April 17 – three weeks away.
