Washington – In an encore of his widely panned Senate testimony, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will tell a House panel today he wants to clear the air on the firings of eight U.S. attorneys – a controversy that he says is distracting his department from fighting crime.
“The sooner that all the facts are known, the sooner we can all devote our exclusive attention to our important work that includes protecting the American people from the dangers of terrorism, violent crime, illegal drugs and sexual predators,” Gonzales said in prepared remarks obtained Wednesday.
The Justice Department said this week it would not resist an effort by the House Judiciary Committee to grant former Gonzales top aide Monica Good ling immunity to testify about the firings.
Congressional investigators have been pushing hard for documents and witness interviews, seeking to find proof of the contention of some Democrats that the firings were aimed at stalling corruption investigations of Republicans or to punish prosecutors who did not pursue charges aimed at Democrats.
