The subcommittee approved authorization of subpoenas for Rove; Miers; deputy White House counsel William K. Kelley; J. Scott Jennings, a special assistant to the president and deputy director of political affairs; and Sampson, who was Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's chief of staff until he resigned earlier this month over the firings, which he helped orchestrate.

While the president can dismiss U.S. attorneys at will, the firings that took place earlier this year created a furor because the attorneys were told to leave because of their performance. Congressional leaders have also accused the administration of being misled over the White House's involvement in the scandal.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on whether to authorize subpoenas for Rove, Miers and Kelley, as well. Last week, the committee gave Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the authority to use subpoenas for 11 current or former Justice Department officials, including Sampson.

Meanwhile, a USA Today analysis of court records reported that three of the eight federal prosecutors fired by the Justice Department for poor performance were in the top 10 for prosecutions and convictions among the nation's 93 U.S. attorneys.

In the past five years, according to the court records, U.S. attorneys Paul Charlton of Phoenix, Carol Lam of San Diego and David Iglesias of New Mexico were helped into the top tier by a large volume of immigration cases. A fourth prosecutor, Daniel Bogden of Nevada, was ranked in the top third of U.S. attorneys. USA Today used the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

A Justice Department spokesman, according to USA Today, disputed the rankings, saying the attorneys aren't in the top tier when it comes to prosecution of cases other than immigration crimes.

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Contributing: USA Today

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E-mail: suzanne@desnews.com