Washington – Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has hurt the Bush administration and the Justice Department with his poor handling of the firing of eight federal prosecutors, a leading Republican said Sunday.
Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Gonzales was undermining himself and his agency’s law enforcement efforts.
“The attorney general’s testimony was very, very damaging to his own credibility. It has been damaging to the administration,” Specter said of Gonzales’ appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week. “No doubt, it is bad for the Department of Justice. It is harmful. There has been a very substantial decrease in morale.”
But Specter stopped short of adding his name to the growing ranks of lawmakers, both Democratic and Republican, calling on Gonzales to resign.
“My own mind-set is to leave it up to the attorney general and the president,” he said in an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.”
Despite the criticism, Gonzales gave no indication Sunday he might soon resign. Gonzales remains focused on guarding against terrorism and keeping children and communities safe, said Brian Roehr kasse, a spokesman for the department.
