Think he's feeling the heat? :D
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117315089797027786-aabQjnzrOTN_S350Pb9Q75rS_jk_20080305.html?mod=blogsGonzales Defends Move to Fire
Attorneys, Denies Political Role
By EVAN PEREZ
March 6, 2007; Page A4
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, facing criticism for the firing of eight U.S. attorneys, defended the action as appropriate but said the Justice Department handled the situation poorly.
"We could have rolled out the decisions more smoothly," he said in an interview. But he also rejected accusations from Democrats and other critics that the prosecutors were fired for failing to follow the Bush administration's political agenda.
"To think we made these changes to retaliate or because they didn't carry out certain prosecutions?" he said. "That did not occur here. I stand by the decision to make the changes."
The tempest has been the latest imbroglio for the Justice Department and Mr. Gonzales, a longtime Bush friend and former White House counsel who has defended the administration's often-controversial law-enforcement programs, from domestic surveillance to the treatment of enemy combatants.
Part of the problem is the Justice Department's contention that the Dec. 7 dismissals were performance related, which came after initial suggestions that the moves were normal turnover. That switch has prompted protests from some of those let go. Some have taken to referring to the firings as the "Pearl Harbor Day Massacre." And some of have said they wouldn't have protested the moves otherwise.
Internal Justice Department documents, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, show evaluations offering positive reviews for all the prosecutors' work as recently as last March. Mr. Gonzales said the written reviews were among several factors the department used to evaluate prosecutors, which include numbers and types of prosecutions and management issues.
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