Dems Seek to Interview Gonzales Aide

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales gestures as he addresses reporters during a media availability after he conducted a round table discussion with law enforcement officials about his Project Safe Childhood initiative in Boston, Friday, March 30, 2007. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia) (Stephan Savoia - AP)

"If her testimony is truthful, she will have nothing to worry about in terms of a perjury prosecution," the Democrats wrote.

Dowd said Tuesday that Goodling wouldn't change her stance, and he suggested the Democrats were trying to intimidate her into testifying.

"Threats of public humiliation for exercising her 5th and 6th Amendment rights are not well taken," Dowd said in an e-mail response to questions about the letter. "In a free country, every citizen should have the liberty to exercise their rights without threats or coercion."

There have been questions about whether Goodling and others misinformed McNulty about the firings just before he testified before the Senate committee in February.

Gonzales' truthfulness about the firings of seven prosecutors on Dec. 7 and another one months earlier is also in question. Several lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, have said he should step down.

He initially said he was never involved in discussions about the firings _ a position he later changed to say he was minimally aware of plans to remove the prosecutors. Last week, his former chief of staff said Gonzales was regularly briefed and participated in talks about "this process of asking certain U.S. attorneys to resign."

Goodling was one of five senior Justice Department aides who met with Gonzales for a Nov. 27 discussion where he approved a detailed plan to carry out the dismissals. Department documents show she attended multiple meetings about the dismissals for months.

She also was among aides who on Feb. 5 helped McNulty prepare his testimony for a Senate hearing on the firings the next day.

Additionally, Goodling was involved in an April 6, 2006, phone call between the Justice Department and Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., who had complained to the Bush administration and the president about David Iglesias, then the U.S. attorney in Albuquerque. Domenici wanted Iglesias to push more aggressively on a corruption probe against Democrats before the 2006 elections.