Gonzales Rejects Calls for Resignation

Presidential adviser Karl Rove speaks during a University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service lecture series Thursday, March 8, 2007, in Little Rock, Ark. Rove defended the Bush administration's firing of several U.S. attorneys, stressing the positions serve at the pleasure of the president. (AP Photo/Mike Wintroath) (Mike Wintroath - AP)

They also included documents from J. Scott Jennings, the White House deputy political director, who e-mailed Sampson about the Little Rock prosecutor's replacement from an address with a "gwb43.com" domain name. That domain is registered to the Republican National Committee, according to a Network Solutions tracking system.

Cummins told television station KTHV in Little Rock on Tuesday: "It's a serious mistake to allow the political people from the White House and other parts of government to get inside the doors of the Department of Justice. There are huge issues at stake there and I'm afraid it's happened now and the damage is done."

Democrats on House and Senate judiciary panels said they would subpoena Miers, Rove and other White House and Justice Department officials if necessary to have them testify about the reasons for the firings.

Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., renewed his call for Gonzales to resign and was joined by a host of other Democrats, including national party chairman Howard Dean and presidential hopeful John Edwards of North Carolina.

"This purge was based purely on politics, to punish prosecutors who were perceived to be too light on Democrats or too tough on Republicans," Schumer said. "Attorney General Gonzales has either forgotten the oath he took to uphold the Constitution or just doesn't understand that his duty to protect the law is greater than his duty to protect the president."

Among Democrats calling for Gonzales' resignation were presidential candidates Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Sen. John Edwards. "The buck should stop somewhere," Clinton said in an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" being aired Wednesday morning.

Republicans also joined in the criticism.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said the dismissal of the U.S. attorney in Las Vegas was "completely mishandled by the United States attorney general." And Sensenbrenner warned that the Justice Department was "going to have to come up with some answers" in explaining the firings.

"If they don't, they're going to lose everyone's confidence," Sensenbrenner said. "What I'd like to hear is the truth."

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Associated Press writer Laurie Kellman contributed to this report.