From Think Progress:
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/04/25/renzi-attorneys/New evidence is emerging that the Justice Department fired the U.S. attorney in Arizona, Paul Charlton, for investigating a land deal involving Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ).
Last week, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Charlton was fired because of “his poor judgment in pushing forward a recommendation on a death penalty case.” But as Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) pointed out, this explanation appears to be a “made up reason.” Documents show that even after Charlton was ousted, Justice Department officials were still “trying to settle on a complete explanation” for his firing:
In different drafts of an undated Justice Department memo prepared this year and released Tuesday, some possible reasons for Charlton’s ouster were crossed out, including a reference to obscenity prosecution, and others were added later.Additionally, two weeks after he was fired in December, Charlton sent an e-mail to the Justice Department asking them how to deal with press questions that his firing was retribution for the Renzi investigation:
No one ever responded to Charlton.