From the Tribune:

Former aide contradicts Gonzales on role in firings
By Andrew Zajac, Washington Bureau; Tribune staff reporter Jeff Coen contributed to this report

March 30, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales' former chief of staff told a Senate hearing Thursday that he tried to get Chicago federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald fired in the midst of Fitzgerald's politically charged CIA leak case but immediately realized it was a bad idea.

Kyle Sampson's startling revelation came on a long day of testimony, punctuated by frequent memory lapses, during which he also undermined the attorney general's assertion that he was only minimally involved in the firings of eight federal prosecutors, which have rocked the Justice Department.

Sampson told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he and Gonzales repeatedly discussed plans to dismiss the prosecutors over the span of two years, and he contradicted Gonzales on other key points as well.

Sampson said he proposed putting Fitzgerald's name on a dismissal list in a 2006 meeting with then-White House counsel Harriet Miers and her deputy, William Kelley.

"I said Patrick Fitzgerald could be added to this list," Sampson said under questioning by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).

"I immediately regretted it and I withdrew it at the time, and I regret it now," Sampson said.

At the time, Fitzgerald was looking into the leaking of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. The previous October, he had indicted Vice President Dick Cheney's top aide, Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

Sampson also admitted that he helped develop a plan to take advantage of a legal loophole in the USA Patriot Act allowing the White House to name U.S. attorneys without congressional approval.

Sampson, 37, at times downplayed his role in the firings, often referring to himself as an "aggregator of information" who acted on the recommendations of others.

But when pressed for records to back up decisions on the firings, Sampson said he didn't keep many because "the process was not scientific and it was not well-documented."

He dismissed a suggestion that young, inexperienced Justice Department operatives drove the firings of the prosecutors, instead pointing the finger at Gonzales and Miers.

"The decision-makers in this case were the attorney general and the counsel to the president," he said.

Sampson resigned March 12 amid mounting complaints that inappropriate political pressure triggered the dismissals.

The attorney general has resisted calls by numerous Democratic and some Republican lawmakers to step down. He is scheduled to testify about the firings on April 17.

U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president, and it is not unusual for all 93 of them to be replaced when a new administration takes power. But it is almost unheard of for them to be forced out in a coordinated fashion during a president's term, as was the case with seven of the eight sacked prosecutors.

Sampson said those seven were dismissed essentially for not pushing hard enough on Bush administration priorities, such as cracking down on illegal immigration or pursuing gun crime.

But several also were pursuing sensitive political corruption cases and at least two reported feeling pressure or criticism from superiors for decisions made in such cases.

Durbin said he was concerned about Fitzgerald's job security because in 2001 senior White House adviser Karl Rove had tried to keep Fitzgerald from getting the Chicago prosecutor's post.

Sampson said that "I believe [Fitzgerald] is a strong, effective U.S. attorney. And I don't remember ever hearing any contrary reporting from anyone within the Justice Department or anywhere else, for that matter."

But when asked by Durbin if he was "ever party to any conversation about the removal of Patrick Fitzgerald from his position as Northern District U.S. attorney," Sampson acknowledged that on "one occasion in 2006" he suggested Fitzgerald be put on the firing list.

Miers and Kelley "looked at me like I had said something totally inappropriate, and I had," Sampson said.

Not a serious comment

He said he wasn't serious about firing Fitzgerald and couldn't explain why he proposed it. "I think maybe it was to get a reaction from [Miers and Kelley]," he said. "I know that I never seriously considered putting Pat Fitzgerald on a list, and he never did appear on a list."

Fitzgerald was special counsel in the CIA leak investigation, which included interviews with President Bush, Cheney and Rove and led to the eventual perjury conviction of Libby.

Durbin said it's implausible that Miers and Kelley would remain silent when Sampson floated Fitzgerald's name.

"I'd like to ask Harriet Miers a few questions," Durbin said. Bush has said he would allow lawmakers to question Miers, Rove and White House officials involved in the firings, but not under oath as congressional committees are seeking.

The White House declined to comment about Sampson's meeting with Miers and Kelley. Spokeswoman Dana Perino noted in an e-mail that Bush praised Fitzgerald in a July 2006 news conference in Chicago.

Fitzgerald's office declined to comment.

Sampson responded carefully to questions, frequently pleaded a faulty memory and exasperated committee Democrats. Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) brushed aside a complaint from Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) that Sampson was being unfairly badgered. "This witness has said a couple of dozen times he doesn't remember things, and we're trying to find out what in heaven's name he does remember," Leahy said.

Conversations with Gonzales

Sampson did have a clear recollection that conversations with Gonzales about replacing prosecutors began in January 2005, before Gonzales was sworn in as attorney general, "and then from time to time, as the process was sort of in a thinking phase through 2005 and 2006. And then I remember discussing it with him as the process sort of came to a conclusion in the fall of 2006," Sampson said.

Gonzales said recently he knew there was an effort to identify prosecutors for dismissal, but "I never saw a document. We never had a conversation about where things stood." "I don't think it's entirely accurate what he said," Sampson said, estimating that he spoke to Gonzales about terminating prosecutors at least five times.

After documents appeared to contradict Gonzales, the attorney general said he meant only that he was not involved "in the deliberations over whether or not United States attorneys should resign."

But Sampson said, "I remember discussing with him this process of asking certain U.S. attorneys to resign" and that Gonzales was present at and participated in a Nov. 27 meeting about the planned firings, seven of which occurred Dec. 7.

Sampson also disputed Gonzales' contention that his chief of staff did not share information with Justice Department officials who briefed lawmakers, leading them to give legislators incorrect information.

"I shared information with anyone who wanted it," Sampson said. "I was very open and collaborative in the process."

The Justice Department declined to comment, but issued a statement reiterating Gonzales' assertion that he "was never focused" on whether specific U.S. attorneys should be asked to resign.

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