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Ex-Aide Contradicts Gonzales on Firings
Whether they have done any good is unclear, Specter said.
"U.S. attorneys across the country do not know when another shoe may drop," Specter said.
  Attorney General Alberto Gonzales former Chief of Staff Kyle Sampson testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 29, 2007, before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Justice Department firings of U.S. Attorneys. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook) (Dennis Cook - AP) 
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Sampson also confirmed a large White House role in planning the firings. That undercut the department's long-cherished image of acting independently in pursing crime.
He said White House political staffers working for presidential aide Karl Rove were involved closely in the plans to replace prosecutors _ as illustrated by thousands of department e-mails released to Congress.
It was Miers, he said, who initially floated the idea of firing all 93 federal prosecutors and ultimately joined Gonzales in approving them.
Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., asked Sampson whether he saw a "perception problem" with the timing of the firings; several of the prosecutors were investigating cases that could portray Republicans in a poor light.
"At the time, I personally did not take adequate account of the perception problem that would result," Sampson said.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, offered Sampson some support. Cornyn said he had seen no evidence the dismissals were "designed to impede or actually did impede a criminal investigation or prosecution."
Congress and the White House are wrangling over whether Rove, Miers and other administration officials will testify in public about their roles in the firings.
Bush has offered to make them available in private meetings; lawmakers from both parties have rejected that idea.
Specter urged White House officials to testify. But he said he was willing to compromise on some of the terms. "Let's try to come to terms here to get the information this committee needs so we can make a judgment," Specter said.
Noting questions about Rove's role in particular, Specter added: "I think we ought to hear from him candidly, sooner rather than later."
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Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman and Deb Riechmann contributed to this report.
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