Ex-aide contradicts Gonzales, says he discussed recollections

WASHINGTON -- A former Justice Department official told House investigators Wednesday that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales tried to review his version of the prosecutor firings with her at a time when lawmakers were homing in on conflicting accounts. Gonzales has testified he hasn't spoken with witnesses.

"It made me a little uncomfortable," Monica Goodling, Gonzales' former White House liaison, said of her conversation with the attorney general just before she took a leave of absence in March. "I just did not know if it was appropriate for us to both be discussing our recollections of what had happened."

In a daylong appearance before the Democratic-led House Judiciary Committee, Goodling, 33, also said she crossed a legal line herself by considering the party affiliations of candidates for career prosecutor jobs, a violation of law.

And she said Gonzales' No. 2, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, knew more than he let on when he did not disclose to Congress the extent of White House involvement in deciding which prosecutors to fire. McNulty denied he withheld information, saying Goodling did not brief him fully about the White House's role.

Goodling's testimony about her final conversation with Gonzales brought questions from panel members about whether he had tried to align her story with his and whether he was truthful in his congressional testimony.

Gonzales told the Senate Judiciary Committee last month that he didn't know the answers to some questions about the firings because he was steering clear of aides -- such as Goodling -- who were likely to be questioned. Among those forced out was Seattle's John McKay.

"I haven't talked to witnesses because of the fact that I haven't wanted to interfere with this investigation and department investigations," Gonzales told the panel.

Goodling said Wednesday that Gonzales reviewed the story of the firings with her at an impromptu meeting she requested in his office before she took a leave of absence.

Goodling testified Gonzales said, " 'Let me tell you what I can remember,' and he laid out for me his general recollection ... of some of the process" of the firings. When Gonzales finished, "he asked me if I had any reaction to his iteration."

Goodling said the conversation made her uncomfortable because she was aware that she, Gonzales and others would be called to testify.

"Was the attorney general trying to shape your recollection?" asked Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala.

Goodling paused.

"I just did not know if it was a conversation we should be having, and so I just didn't say anything," she replied.

Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said: "The attorney general has never attempted to influence or shape the testimony or public statements of any witness in this matter, including Ms. Goodling. The statements made by the attorney general during this meeting were intended only to comfort her in a very difficult period of her life."

Gonzales' resignation is being demanded by Democrats and some Republicans, in part, over the firings. President Bush is standing by his friend. The furor has been costly: Goodling and Gonzales' chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, have resigned. McNulty, too, is leaving later this year.

Earlier Wednesday, Goodling acknowledged she had given too much consideration to whether candidates for jobs as career prosecutors were Republicans or Democrats.

"You crossed the line on civil-service laws, is that right?" asked Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va.

"I believe I crossed the lines," Goodling replied. "But I didn't mean to."

She said she had limited involvement in the firings. She said she never talked to Karl Rove, Bush's political adviser, nor Harriet Miers, then the White House counsel, about the firings. She said Sampson drew up the firings list but didn't know how names got on it.