Gonzales admits to mishandling attorney firings

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Alberto Gonzales plans to tell the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday that the firing of eight U.S. attorneys last year should have been handled differently — but that nothing was done for the wrong reasons.

style="border:1px solid #999999;"> Related content Gonzales' statement

In Gonzales' 25-page prepared statement, the attorney general explains that the issue surrounding the attorneys is a result of poor planning and poor management and nothing more.

"I have nothing to hide," Gonzales says. "I am committed to assuring the Congress and the American public that nothing improper occurred here."

"I know that I did not, and would not, ask for a resignation of any individual in order to interfere with or influence a particular prosecution for partisan political gain," according to the prepared statement.

Gonzales will face the committee — which includes Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah — as part of the ongoing investigation into the dismissal of the eight U.S. attorneys as well the other topics ranging from National Security letters to the Adam Walsh Act.

But the firings of U.S. Attorneys Dan Bogden, Margaret Chiara, Paul Charlton, David Iglesias, Carol Lam, John McKay, Kevin Ryan, and Bud Cummins have been at the forefront of criticism for Gonzales for the past few weeks, with many in Congress calling for his resignation.

There are discrepancies between what the department told Congress and the attorneys that were fired as to why they were being replaced as well as conflicting statements from Gonzales about his role in the process.

President Bush has routinely said he supports Gonzales and that he would not ask him to resign.

Gonzales' testimony says that any suggestion that he "intentionally made false statements about my involvement in this process ... have been personally very painful to me."

"I have always sought the truth. I never sought to mislead or deceive the Congress or the American people about my role in this matter," according to the testimony. "I do acknowledge, however, that at times I have been less than precise with my words when discussing the resignations."

Earlier Gonzales had said he "was not involved in any discussions about what was going on," which he admits in his written testimony "was too broad" but not intended to mislead anyone.