Senate Panel Reacts to Attorney Firings

Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty gestures while testifying on Capitol Hill in Washington in this Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2006 file photo before the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. McNulty, a top Justice Department lawyer, acknowledged Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2007, that more than a half-dozen U.S. attorneys were fired in the last year, in some cases without cause, but denied Democrats' charges that they were dismissed and replaced for political reasons. Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty told the Senate Judiciary Committee that six or more U.S. attorneys were telephoned last December and told to resign in January for reasons he would not divulge. He also acknowledged that seven others were asked to leave their posts last year. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, FILE) (Evan Vucci - AP)

Senate Democratic leaders sent Attorney General Alberto Gonzales a letter Thursday asking him to publicly answer several questions about the matter, including any role that presidential adviser Karl Rove might have had in replacing Arkansas U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins with former Rove adviser Tim Griffin.

Senate Democrats accuse the administration of slipping the provision into the Patriot Act reauthorization that took effect last March with the intent of circumventing the Senate confirmation process and rewarding political allies. Specter, who wrote the reauthorization as chairman of the committee, says he was unaware of the provision and opposes it.

The Democrats cite the firings since March of seven U.S. attorneys from Arkansas to California, some without cause, as evidence that the administration is punishing prosecutors whose work targeted Republican allies and rewarding those faithful to the GOP.

Gonzales has denied that charge and promised to submit every replacement for Senate confirmation.

Earlier this week, his deputy, Paul McNulty, told the panel that some of the ousted prosecutors were fired for performance-related causes he would not describe, while others were asked to leave without cause.

Democrats demanded the performance reports of all seven dismissed prosecutors and threatened to subpoena the material. McNulty cautioned that the reports might not detail any reasons for dismissal.

The panel's action came a day after one of those fired, former U.S. Attorney John McKay of Washington state, said his resignation was ordered by the administration without explanation seven months after he received a favorable job evaluation.

"I was ordered to resign as U.S. attorney on Dec. 7 by the Justice Department," McKay, who led the Justice Department's Western Washington office, said Wednesday in a telephone interview. "I was given no explanation. I certainly was told of no performance issues."

The Seattle Times reported Thursday that in his last performance review, McKay received a highly favorable report from a 27-member team from the Justice Department's Evaluation and Review Staff.