McNulty Gets Knife in the Back

"At times, Mr. McNulty found himself pushed aside by D. Kyle Sampson, the former chief of staff to Mr. Gonzales, who granted Mr. Sampson wide-ranging authority, especially in personnel matters.

"Mr. McNulty blamed himself for failing to resist the dismissal plan when Mr. Sampson brought it to him in October 2006, according to associates. He took one prosecutor off the removal list but acquiesced to the removal of seven others, according to Congressional aides' accounts of his private testimony to Congress on April 27."

James Gordon Meek and Kenneth R. Bazinet write in the New York Daily News that "sources said the deputy attorney general was angry at being linked to the prosecutors' firing and felt he could no longer work under Gonzales."

Richard Serrano writes in the Los Angeles Times: "Some Justice insiders said relations between Gonzales and McNulty had grown tense since the scandal over the firings blew up a few months ago. The men have never been particularly close; McNulty was not Gonzales' first choice to be his deputy. They also come from different traditions: McNulty's history is as a Capitol Hill staffer, whereas Gonzales came from Texas with Bush."

Lara Jakes Jordan writes for the Associated Press: "McNulty, who has served 18 months as the Justice Department's second-in-command, announced his plans at a closed-door meeting of U.S. attorneys in San Antonio. He told them he would remain at the department until late summer.

"'I thought this made a lot of sense,' McNulty told The Associated Press in a phone interview after talking to the prosecutors. 'The U.S. attorneys have been very supportive. I've got a good relationship with them, and they were very kind, and I appreciate that.'"

Robert Schmidt writes for Bloomberg: "The resignation of Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty may give Democrats a further opening to embarrass the Bush administration over the firing of eight federal prosecutors.

"Democrats vow to keep pressing their investigation of the firings by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. A confirmation hearing for McNulty's successor would give them additional leverage to make the White House answer questions about the firings."

AFP reports that the resignation "has invigorated Democrats who want to see more heads roll in a deepening scandal over the sacking of federal prosecutors."

Evan Perez writes in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) that McNulty's move "may reignite pressure on his boss, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, just as some of the controversy over the firings of eight U.S. attorneys appeared to be waning."

From CNN yesterday afternoon:

Wolf Blitzer: "What's the White House saying about all of this?"