"We would not be pursuing this matter absent the evidence of misconduct, misstatements and potential criminal wrongdoing that has already come to light," Conyers and Sanchez wrote. "Among other things, the Department of Justice itself has acknowledged that its officials have misled Congress, with the Chief of Staff to the Attorney General resigning over his role in the matter."

Sampson, who was a rising star in the Bush administration, resigned last week after the Justice Department showed e-mail between him and the White House going over lists of attorneys to fire. Department officials had previously told Congress the White House was not involved, and Gonzales said Sampson did not tell those testifying all the details of what went on in deciding which attorneys should resign.

But Berenson's statement said the fact that discussions between the White House and Justice Department on the subject had gone on since the election "was well-known to a number of other senior officials at the department, including others who were involved in preparing the department's testimony to Congress."

He said this information was not deliberately withheld from those who testified to Congress recently about the firings. Berenson said White House involvement was not the issue.

"The focus of preparation efforts was on why the U.S. attorneys had been replaced, not how."

U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president. Former President Bill Clinton fired all 93 U.S. attorneys when first elected, as is usual at the change of an administration. What Democrats — and some Republicans — do not like in the most recent round of firings are conflicting statements as to why the attorneys were fired and potential political mingling with legal proceedings.

The Justice Department told Congress the attorneys had performance problems, when several had good work records but were handling politically sensitive cases. No one in Congress is denying that the president can pick and choose who serves in his administration, but lawmakers are taking issue with discrepancies in Justice Department and White House statements that can tarnish the attorneys' reputations.

Sampson worked as a counsel for Hatch on the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1999 to 2001, and Hatch expressed his sympathy for his former staffer at Thursday's meeting.

"You know, I personally feel badly for young Kyle Sampson," Hatch said. "He's a very honest, decent, honorable person. And he had the unenviable job of handling these matters."

Hatch said he has gone through "an awful lot" of the 3,000 e-mails the Justice Department has released to the committee.

"You can find some things that you can question and characterize and score political points on, but by and large, he did a pretty good job," Hatch said. "And, frankly, I will resent anybody who tries to hurt the man. Because he was in a tough position and, frankly, I think, handled it pretty well under the circumstances, even though there are things I disagree with."

The Senate Judiciary Committee asked Sampson to voluntarily appear before the committee at a hearing next week. The committee authorized a subpoena for him last week but it also has not been served yet.

But Berenson sent a letter to the committee Thursday asking to postpone any appearance by Sampson until at least April 2, allowing for more time for Sampson "to review the matter" and because Berenson had family vacation plans in Utah.

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E-mail: suzanne@desnews.com