05-23-2007, 11:35 AM
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#80 (permalink)
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Junkie
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Looks like Mcnulty is going to pay the price for all of this.
Quote:
May 23 (Bloomberg) -- A former top Justice Department aide denied knowledge of any improper White House role in the firing of eight U.S. attorneys and accused Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty of misleading Congress about the dismissals.
Monica Goodling, the former White House liaison for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, told the House Judiciary Committee she had no discussions before the firings with Karl Rove, Bush's top political adviser, or then-White House Counsel Harriet Miers.
Goodling testified that she ``crossed the line'' by inquiring into political affiliations of people applying for career jobs at the Justice Department. She disputed McNulty's assertion that she withheld information from him about the extent of White House involvement in replacing U.S. attorneys before his Feb. 6 Senate Judiciary Committee testimony.
Goodling said today she provided McNulty with ``dozens of pages of statistics and other information'' to help him prepare for his testimony. ``Despite my and others' best efforts, the deputy's public testimony was incomplete or inaccurate in a number of respects,'' she said. ``I believe that the deputy was not fully candid about his knowledge of White House involvement in the replacement decision.''
House and Senate committees are investigating whether the firings were carried out for improper political motives such as to spur investigations of Democrats or squelch those of Republicans.
There was no immediate comment from the Justice Department on Goodling's testimony.
Grant of Immunity
Goodling, testifying under a limited grant of immunity from prosecution, said she was ``not aware of anyone'' in the Justice Department ``ever suggesting the replacement'' of prosecutors ``to interfere with a particular case.''
Likewise, she told Texas Republican Lamar Smith she had ``no knowledge'' of White House aides requesting dismissals as retribution for failing to prosecute Democrats or for investigating Republicans.
During his Feb. 6 Senate testimony, McNulty -- who is resigning from the No. 2 job at the Justice Department -- said the White House was consulted about the dismissals before they were made in late December.
Goodling, 33, said that during his testimony McNulty was ``downplaying the role of the White House'' in the firings. McNulty ``was aware the Department for Justice had worked for at least several months with the White House,'' which ``had signed off'' on the dismissals, she said.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...r2I&refer=home
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