Bush fires back, stands by Gonzales

WASHINGTON — President Bush fought back Tuesday in the controversy over eight fired federal prosecutors, defending Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, refusing to let his aides testify publicly and demanding that Democrats "drop the partisanship."

"The initial response by Democrats, unfortunately, shows some appear more interested in scoring political points than in learning the facts," Bush said in a hastily arranged late-afternoon White House appearance. "There is no indication that anybody did anything improper."

The president's counterattack put the White House and Congress on a collision course over investigations into the firings of the eight U.S. attorneys last year, including John McKay of Seattle. Democrats say they are increasingly convinced that at least some of the prosecutors were fired because they resisted political interference into their investigations, which, if true, could be obstruction of justice.

Vowing to avoid partisan "show trials" in Congress, Bush said he would let presidential adviser Karl Rove, former White House counsel Harriet Miers and other aides meet in private with congressional investigators, without taking oaths to tell the truth under penalty of law.

Democrats demanded that the aides testify under oath and in public and dismissed Bush's offer to cooperate as a sham.

"It seems as if the president wants to appear to be cooperative, but not really cooperate," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said: "After telling a bunch of different stories about why they fired the U.S. attorneys, the Bush administration is not entitled to the benefit of the doubt. If Karl Rove plans to tell the truth, he has nothing to fear from being under oath like any other witness."

Presidents commonly begin their first term by replacing most, if not all, U.S. attorneys. Presidents Clinton in 1993 and Bush in 2001 replaced nearly all U.S. attorneys in the Justice Department's 93 districts nationwide. But it's rare for these attorneys to be dismissed later in a president's term except in cases of malfeasance. A Feb. 22 report by the bipartisan Congressional Research Service showed only five cases in 25 years in which U.S. attorneys were forced to resign.

Earlier Tuesday, in a sweeping bipartisan rebuke of the administration, the Senate voted 94-2 to end Gonzales' power to appoint U.S. attorneys without Senate confirmation. That power had been inserted into a revision of the anti-terrorism Patriot Act last year at the request of the Justice Department. A similar bill awaits action in the House.

The forcefulness of Bush's later response gave the attorney general more time to fight for his job and surprised Republicans who had predicted Gonzales' imminent resignation. Bush came to Gonzales' defense a day after White House aides began discussing possible replacements for the Justice Department post.

"He's got support with me," Bush said. "He's going to go up to Capitol Hill, and he's going to explain. ... I've heard all these allegations and rumors. And people just need to hear the truth."

Bush reiterated his view that the firings were appropriate but were not properly explained to Congress.