Gonzales Testifies Before Senate Panel, Part II

SESSIONS: ... about the decision you'd made...

GONZALES: Yes, that was on December 7th, as I recall, December 7th...

SESSIONS: ... later on.

GONZALES: ... the day we were implementing -- the day the plan was being implemented.

SESSIONS: Well, Mr. Gonzales, with regard to United States attorney Iglesias, there were concerns about vote fraud. Senator Feingold has raised concern about a United States attorney in his district on vote fraud. Senator Cornyn has raised questions about a decision by a United States attorney in Texas on prosecuting Border Patrol agents.

So I would suggest, first, there's nothing wrong with questioning a United States attorney, by a politician or anyone else -- raising questions about it.

But I would tell you what I think Mr. Iglesias was entitled to, as a member of the Department of Justice who's out there on the field, I think he should have been inquired of about this voter fraud case.

And I'm going to tell you, I have prosecuted voter fraud cases. They are the most controversial things you can imagine. And sometimes they look like they're easy to prosecute. And I've been criticized, as attorney general, for not being aggressive in that. And I've been criticized as a United States attorney over those cases.

So I would just suggest to you that that is a delicate matter. And I think somebody should have met with him to ascertain his judgment on that.

GONZALES: Well, but I think -- you're absolutely right. It is a delicate matter.

It's one thing to tell Mr. Iglesias, "How are you doing on voter fraud cases generally?" But if you're talking about inquiring about a specific case, that is really delicate, because simply inquiring into the case sends a message to the United States attorney.

And if you mention, "Oh, by the way, the homestate senator, the guy who recommended you for this job, is concerned about how you're doing on this case," that's really dangerous. And so...