GOP Blocks Gonzales No-Confidence Vote

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales speaks at the National Press Club in Washington in this May 15, 2007 file photo. Majority Democrats in the Senate are forcing their Republican colleagues on the record about whether Gonzales should keep his job. The resolution, expected to be voted on Monday, is one sentence: "It is the sense of the Senate that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales no longer holds the confidence of the Senate and of the American people." (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File) (Ron Edmonds - AP)

Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, an independent who often votes with the Democrats, voted no.

And Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, voted present. Federal agents investigating corruption in Alaska have probed the remodeling of Stevens' home there. Stevens is not considered a target of the investigation, law enforcement officials familiar with the probe have told the Associated Press.

Those not voting included Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a presidential candidate who had called for Gonzales' resignation.

House Democrats announced that Gonzales' deputy, Paul McNulty, who has announced his resignation, would testify June 19 about his role in the U.S. attorney firings. Gonzales last month said he relied on McNulty more than any other aide to decide which U.S. attorneys should be fired last year. But internal Justice Department documents showed that McNulty was not closely involved in picking all of those fired.

And the Justice Department's internal inspector general is investigating whether department officials improperly considered the party affiliation of candidates for career jobs there.

Majority Democrats toned down the language in their one-sentence resolution to attract more support from Republicans. The measure read: "It is the sense of the Senate that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales no longer holds the confidence of the Senate and of the American people."

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Associated Press Writer Melissa Nelson contributed to this report from Mobile, Ala.