E-mail trail shows power struggle behind US attorneys' firings

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http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0321/p01s02-uspo.html?s=yaht

E-mail trail shows power struggle behind US attorneys' firings
Newly released documents show the White House sought the upper hand over US prosecutors and Congress.

By Peter Grier | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

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WASHINGTON - Apparently no top officials at the Justice Department pined for the task: appear before a House panel, just as a brewing flap over fired US prosecutors reached a boil, and try to explain what happened.

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As newly released Department of Justice documents make clear, the furor over the firings of eight US attorneys is at least partly driven by a power struggle between the US government's legislative and executive branches.

Much of that struggle reflects politics. Democrats in Congress continue to use their new majority status to mount hearings and investigations intended to put the White House on the defensive.

But it is partly institutional, as well. As attorney general, Alberto Gonzales has irritated powerful Republicans as well as Democrats. They may not be calling for his resignation, but neither are they rushing to his aid.