Accessibility links
Inquiry into Fired U.S. Attorneys The dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys in December 2006 led to claims that the firings were politically motivated — and that legislators tried to influence the attorneys' work. The White House has agreed to have executive staff testify in Congress — but not under oath, or in public.
Special Series

Inquiry into Fired U.S. Attorneys

FBI Director Contradicts Gonzales Testimony

Four Democrats from the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday called for a perjury investigation against Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, then FBI Director Robert Mueller contradicted some of Gonzalez's sworn Senate testimony.

FBI Director Contradicts Gonzales Testimony

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/12262806/12262807" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Gonzales Denies That He Pressured Ashcroft

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales comes under bipartisan assault from the Senate Judiciary Committee. Gonzales testified that he did not pressure then-Attorney General John Ashcroft to recertify President Bush's domestic spying program during a 2004 hospital visit.

Hear Alex Chadwick and Dina Temple-Raston Discuss Gonzales' Testimony

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/12197844/12198377" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Attorney General Has a Second Date with Congress

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testifies Tuesday morning before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill. In April, Gonzales' performance before that committee was panned, but he managed to keep his job. Some question the value of a follow-up hearing.

Attorney General Has a Second Date with Congress

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/12185245/12185289" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

House Panel Rejects Bush's Privilege Claim

A House Judiciary committee panel has taken a first formal step toward citing former White House counsel and one-time Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers for contempt after she ignored the panel's subpoena. President Bush asked Miers not to attend the hearing, claiming executive privilege.

Hear NPR's Nina Totenberg

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/11926688/11926689" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Panel Moves Toward Holding Miers in Contempt

A House Judiciary committee panel has taken a first formal step toward citing former White House counsel and one time Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers for contempt after she ignored the panel's subpoena. President Bush asked Miers not to attend the hearing, claiming executive privilege.

Hear NPR's Nina Totenberg

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/11868980/11926689" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Bush Withholds Documents in Attorneys Dispute

As promised, the White House has formally invoked executive privilege in a dispute with Congress over the controversy involving the firing of federal prosecutors last year. The Bush administration said that it will not submit e-mails and other documents regarding the dismissal of eight federal prosecutors.

Hear NPR's Nina Totenberg

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/11826067/11833489" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Justice Department Fears Inquiry Hurts Credibility

As Congress continues investigating allegations of politicization at the Justice Department, some current and former department employees say they fear that the scandal is hurting department morale and damaging the institution's credibility in the courts.

Justice Department Fears Inquiry Hurts Credibility

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/11761625/11761626" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Fired U.S. Attorney Testifies on Death Penalty

Former U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton of Phoenix, one of the federal prosecutors whose firings caused controversy earlier this year, says he objected to the attorney general's insistence that he seek the death penalty in a murder case with circumstantial evidence.

Fired U.S. Attorney Testifies on Death Penalty

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/11478152/11478153" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Republicans Block No-Confidence Vote on Gonzales

Senate Republicans have blocked a no-confidence vote in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Although none of them came to Gonzales' defense, they argued that it's not the Senate's job to pass judgment on the president's Cabinet officers. Members of both parties say they are worried that Gonzales helped politicize the Justice Department.

Republicans Block No-Confidence Vote on Gonzales

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/10947976/10947978" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Goodling Acknowledges Politicizing Staff Picks

Monica Goodling, the former Justice Department liaison with the White House, never talked with White House officials Karl Rove and Harriett Miers about which U.S. attorneys to fire, she told a House panel Wednesday. Goodling had invoked her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.

Goodling Acknowledges Politicizing Staff Picks

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/10357969/10357970" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Deputy Attorney General McNulty Resigns

Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, the second highest ranking official at the Justice Department, announced his resignation, citing financial reasons. His resignation follows intense questioning over the department's firing of eight U.S. Attorneys. He is the third senior official to leave.

Deputy Attorney General McNulty Resigns

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/10184017/10184018" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Gonzales Gets Gentler Reception in House Visit

As Attorney General Alberto Gonzales gives a House panel his side of U.S. attorney firings, his answers stay the same. But questions from the House are not as harsh as those he faced at the Senate.

Gonzales Gets Gentler Reception in House Visit

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/10131842/10131843" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Despite Furor, Gonzales Likely to Stick Around

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Thursday testifies before Congress again on the U.S. attorney firings. Many Republicans and Democrats have called on him to quit. So why hasn't he? In a nutshell, because it could make things worse for the Bush administration.

Despite Furor, Gonzales Likely to Stick Around

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/10101946/10103463" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Attorneys Scandal May Be Tied to Missouri Voting

The Justice Department's purge of U.S. attorneys in 2006 may have been larger than the eight cases that have been discussed in Congress. Other U.S. attorneys' names were on a list the Justice Department compiled in January 2006. One of them is Todd Graves of Missouri, who resigned after refusing to sign on to a voter-registration lawsuit.

Attorneys Scandal May Be Tied to Missouri Voting

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/9981606/9981607" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Ex-U.S. Official: Fired Prosecutors Were 'Smeared'

The former second-in-command at the Justice Department told a House panel Thursday that the eight U.S. attorneys fired last year were, in his opinion, some of the best prosecutors in the country.

Ex-U.S. Official: Fired Prosecutors Were 'Smeared'

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/9977681/9980024" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Fired U.S. Prosecutors Slam Former Bosses

The U.S. attorneys fired by the Justice Department last year describe their former leaders at Justice and the White House as "selfish," "self-serving" and "inept" in written testimony to the House Judiciary Committee.

Fired U.S. Prosecutors Slam Former Bosses

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/9966115/9966116" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Sen. Whitehouse: Gonzales Not Convincing

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday did little to improve his standing or credibility with Congress, says Sen. Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the judiciary panel.

Sen. Whitehouse: Gonzales Not Convincing

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/9692295/9692296" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Browse archive or search npr.org