Senators Block Vote on Gonzales

Seven Republicans joined Democrats in voting in opposition to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, who again said he will stay in office. (By John David Mercer -- Mobile Press-register Via Associated Press)

Citing his deep-seated opposition to Gonzales, Specter supported the resolution while at the same time encouraging fellow Republicans to oppose it because of "outright political chicanery."

Some Republicans rejected the measure as a relic of the British parliamentary system. "Is this what the business of the Senate is really about, a nonbinding, irrelevant resolution?" Sen. Trent Lott (Miss.) asked, complaining that Democrats should not have given up last week on a bipartisan immigration bill. "Maybe we should be calling for a vote of no confidence in the Senate."

A top Gonzales aide sounded the same theme in the attorney general's declaration that he would stay put.

"With so many pressing issues facing our country, such as the threat of terrorism and the danger posed by gangs and violent criminals, we look forward to continuing to work with Congress to identify appropriate solutions to address these issues," said Brian Roehrkasse, a Justice Department spokesman.

Five of the seven GOP votes against Gonzales came from senators who had already publicly called for his resignation, with Specter and Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) officially calling for his removal for the first time. Four of the GOP senators face elections next year in potentially difficult races, something Republicans said was an ulterior motive for Schumer.

Joining Specter and Collins were Sens. John E. Sununu (N.H.), Chuck Hagel (Neb.), Gordon Smith (Ore.), Norm Coleman (Minn.) and Olympia J. Snowe (Maine).

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) attacked Schumer's role as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, citing its fundraising missives that have highlighted the investigation into the prosecutor firings as evidence of Democratic politicization of the probe.

"I also can't understand why my friend should not at least recuse himself from the official investigation of the Justice Department that he himself has been leading," McConnell said of Schumer.

One Republican, Sen. Ted Stevens (Alaska), who has been asked to preserve records in connection with a widening Justice Department investigation examining his son and other current and former Alaska lawmakers, voted "present." Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) voted against debating the resolution.

Despite yesterday's reprieve, Gonzales is still under intense scrutiny on Capitol Hill.

Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty, who has said that top Gonzales aides did not provide him full information before he delivered misleading testimony to the Senate in February, is now slated to testify publicly before a House Judiciary subcommittee on June 19, an aide said yesterday.

Last month, Monica M. Goodling, Gonzales's former counsel, testified that McNulty was not "fully candid" in private remarks about his knowledge of White House involvement in the firings.

More than 20 current and former officials from the White House and the Justice Department have been subpoenaed in the investigations, with Bush refusing to allow his West Wing advisers to testify or to turn over any internal documents.