E-mails
show Rove role
in
ABC
News
E-mails directly contradict
White House assertions that the notion originated with Harriet
Miers.
New unreleased e-mails from
top administration officials show the idea of firing all 93
The e-mails also show
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales discussed the idea of firing the attorneys en
masse while he was still White House counsel - weeks before he was confirmed as
attorney general.
The e-mails directly
contradict White House assertions that the notion originated with recently
departed White House counsel Harriet Miers and was her idea
alone.
Two independent sources in a
position to know have described the contents of the e-mail exchange, which could
be released as early as Friday. They put Rove at the epicenter of the imbroglio
and raise questions about Gonzales' explanations of the
matter.
The e-mail exchange is dated
in early January 2005, more than a month before the White House acknowledged it
was considering firing all the U.S. attorneys - and while Gonzales still was
White House counsel. On its face, the plan is not improper, inappropriate or
even unusual: The President has the right to fire
What has made the issue a
political firestorm is the White House's insistence that the idea came from
Harriet Miers and was swiftly rejected.
White House press secretary
Tony Snow told reporters Tuesday that Miers had suggesting firing all 93 and
that it was "her idea only." Snow said Miers' idea was quickly rejected by the
Department of Justice.
However, Miers was Bush's
staff secretary at that time in January 2005. She did not become White House
counsel for another month, after Gonzales left to become attorney
general.
The latest e-mails show that
Gonzales and Rove both were involved in the discussion, and neither rejected it
out of hand.
According to the e-mails,
Rove raised the issue with then-deputy White House Counsel David Leitch,
prompting Leitch to e-mail then-Justice Department lawyer Kyle Sampson. Sampson
had moved over to the Justice Department after working with Gonzales in the
White House.
Sampson responded to Leitch
that he had discussed the idea with Gonzales two weeks earlier and that they
were considering several different options.
Editor's
Note: Today, the Senate Judiciary
Committee authorized Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to issue subpoenas to 11
current and former Department of Justice officials as part of the panel's
ongoing investigation into the firings of eight
prosecutors.
The authorization covers five
Department of Justice officials and six fired US attorneys. The Department of
Justice officials are: Kyle Sampson, former chief of staff of the Department of
Justice; Michael Elston, chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty;
William Mercer, acting associate attorney general; Monica Goodling, counsel to
the attorney general and White House liaison; Michael Battle, former director of
Executive Office for United States Attorneys. The former US attorneys are: H. E.
"Bud" Cummins III, former US attorney, Eastern District of Arkansas; David C.
Iglesias, former US attorney, District of New Mexico; Carol Lam, former US
attorney, Southern District of California; John McKay, former US attorney,
Western District of Washington; Paul K. Charlton, former US attorney, District
of Arizona; Daniel G. Bogden, former US attorney, District of
Nevada.
Senator Leahy stated that he
expected the committee to vote on similar authorizations within a week for White
House officials Karl Rove, deputy chief of staff to the President; Harriet E.
Miers, former White House counsel; and William Kelley, deputy counsel to the
president. - TO/vh
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