From Bloomberg
AG Alberto Gonzales stated "There obviously remains some confusion about my involvement in this" referring to the firing of 13 Assistant AG's. "At the end of the day, I know what I did. And I know that the motivations for the decisions I made were not based on improper reasons."
Sampson told the panel that the White House had a large role in the firings, not limited involvement as the Justice Department originally claimed.
One-time presidential counsel Harriet Miers joined Gonzales in approving them. And under questioning from Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Sampson said that looking back, he should not have advocated the firing of one prosecutor in particular, New Mexico's David Iglesias.
In his testimony, Sampson said that in retrospect he wouldn't have sacked Iglesias, who was added to the list of dismissed prosecutors after complaints from White House political adviser Karl Rove and New Mexico Republican Senator Pete Domenici. Sampson had called Iglesias a ``diverse up and comer'' and considered him for other administration jobs, e-mails released by the Justice Department show.
``It is imperative that you restore Mr. Iglesias's tarnished reputation by confirming that his performance as a U.S. attorney did not warrant dismissal,'' wrote Schumer, who is leading the Senate's investigation of the firings. ``I urge you to take this step immediately.''
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