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Dead Constitution See other Dead Constitution Articles Title: Senate Panel Wants Status of Justice Aides in Connection to Attorney Probe Senate Panel Wants Status of Justice Aides in Connection to Attorney Probe By Seth Stern, CQ Staff The Senate Judiciary chairman asked Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales to clarify the employment status of three Justice Department aides the committee might subpoena and whether any have retained their own lawyers. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., noted that two other aides the committee wants to question about the firings of eight U.S. attorneys, Kyle Sampson and Monica Goodling, have either resigned or taken a leave of absence and retained outside counsel. In a handwritten note Tuesday, Leahy asked Gonzales to provide the information in advance of Sampson’s scheduled testimony before the Judiciary Committee on Thursday. A Matter of Immunity Democrats reacted coolly to a proposal by Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the committee’s ranking Republican, to give Goodling immunity in exchange for her testimony. On March 26, Goodling’s attorneys indicated she would invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and decline to answer questions if called before the committee. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said it was “too early to tell” whether immunity was a good idea. Voter Fraud Cases At a Senate Judiciary hearing Tuesday, Schumer pressed FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III to provide information about voter fraud investigations used as a justification in the firings. Two of the dismissed prosecutors, John McKay of Washington and David Iglesias of New Mexico, were criticized for not prosecuting allegations of election fraud in their jurisdictions. Mueller said he was aware of no instance where the FBI had recommended a voter fraud prosecution that was then not pursued by the local U.S. attorney. Schumer asked Mueller to provide documents regarding allegations of voter fraud and the FBI’s recommendations. Mueller also acknowledged that FBI agents who had told the San Diego Union-Tribune that fired U.S. Attorney Carol Lam was “crucial to the success of multiple ongoing investigations” had subsequently been told not to discuss the matter. “I do not think it’s appropriate for us to comment on personnel decisions that are made by the Department of Justice,” Mueller said. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., took exception to that explanation. “I profoundly disagree that he was commenting on a personnel matter, per se. He was simply saying that it would affect cases that were ongoing,” Feinstein added: “And I think he’s entitled to his opinion.”
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