House Democrats Seek to Question Gonzales Aide About Fired Prosecutors

House Democrats requested yesterday an interview of an aide to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, arguing that she must tell Congress which questions she is refusing to answer in asserting her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

The request for a voluntary interview with Monica M. Goodling, Gonzales's senior counselor, signals that Democrats intend to challenge her refusal to testify about the Justice Department's firing of eight U.S. attorneys.

Goodling, who is on indefinite leave from Justice, has said that she will refuse to answer questions from the House or Senate judiciary committees, because Democrats have already made up their minds on the matter. She said she faces "a perilous environment in which to testify."

In a letter to Goodling yesterday, Reps. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), the House committee's chairman, and Linda T. Sanchez (D-Calif.) wrote that "several of the asserted grounds for refusing to testify do not satisfy the well-established" legal reasons for doing so and that submitting to an interview "could obviate the need to subpoena" her.

Goodling's attorney, John M. Dowd, accused the committee of attempting to use "threats or coercion" to force his client to cooperate.

"Threats of public humiliations for exercising her Fifth and Sixth amendment rights are not well taken and are frowned upon by the courts and the bar committee on ethics," Dowd said in a statement.

The fight over Goodling's cooperation comes as Gonzales prepares for testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee later this month. Democrats and some Republicans have called for Gonzales's resignation because of his department's shifting explanations for the U.S. attorney firings and the White House's role in them.

President Bush said yesterday that he is "genuinely concerned" about the former prosecutors' reputations but that there is "no credible evidence of any wrongdoing" in the dismissals.

"I'm sorry it's come to this," Bush said.