Testimony by Gonzales postponed

WASHINGTON — Senators postponed testimony by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in the aftermath of Monday's deadly Virginia Tech shootings, delaying his chance to defend contradictions about fired federal prosecutors that have taxed his credibility.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy said the proceedings, initially set for today, would be inappropriate after the shootings in Virginia. He delayed Gonzales' appearance until Thursday.

The Bush administration has pushed for Gonzales to testify as soon as possible, and the long-scheduled hearing is widely viewed as the attorney general's last chance to quiet a controversy that has prompted calls in both parties for his resignation.

Gonzales has struggled for more than a month to clarify what he described as only a limited involvement in the purge that Democrats believe was politically motivated. A group of conservative activists joined the chorus Monday, urging Gonzales to step down for having "debased honesty as the coin of the realm."

The White House maintained its support for Gonzales. "I think the attorney general has been perfectly honest," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Monday. And Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, defended Gonzales from the political backlash, saying, "This is a town of jerks."

Gonzales accepts responsibility for some of the confusion, acknowledging in written testimony "that at times I have been less than precise with my words when discussing the resignations."

He also ordered the Justice Department to release more than 5,700 pages of e-mails, schedules, memos and other documents to show that the firings were not improper.

But his prepared remarks conflict with some details already released by the Justice Department and former aides. They include:

• Gonzales' statement that he became aware of the process to replace U.S. attorneys "shortly after the 2004 election and soon after I became attorney general." However, a Jan. 9, 2005, e-mail notes a discussion of the topic "a couple of weeks ago" between Gonzales and his former top aide, Kyle Sampson. Gonzales was confirmed as attorney general on Feb. 3, 2005.

• Gonzales' recollection that he received a few, brief updates about the firing plans. "During those updates, to my knowledge, I did not make decisions about who should or should not be asked to resign," he wrote. Sampson, by contrast, told the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 29 that he remembered discussions with Gonzales regarding "this process of asking certain U.S. attorneys to resign."