Withheld Justice e-mails involve talks with lawmakers

[William769]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Justice Department released a list of internal documents Thursday focusing on lawmakers' concerns and media questions about the firings of eight federal prosecutors, but the department resisted congressional demands for copies of the memos.

The list of 159 e-mails and memos, spanning nearly three months, at the least demonstrates concern about how the dismissals were being publicly received before they erupted into a firestorm that has resulted in calls for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign.

The small pile of documents, sent to Capitol Hill on Thursday night, also included e-mails about articles published in The Washington Post and The New York Times that quoted unidentified Justice officials justifying the firings. (Watch where Congress' probe into the attorney firings stands now )

A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said congressional investigators requested those two stories to determine who the unidentified officials were.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/04/27/fired.prosecutors.ap/index.html