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Senate Judiciary committee grills the Attorney General, live.
10:45am: Sen. Feinstein, a member of both the Judiciary and Intel committees, now up. How many US attorneys have been asked to resign in the past year?
Gonzales: You know.... I don't know the answer to that question. .... We gave you a lot of information in the letter Tuesday. ...
Feinstein: I know of at least six who have been asked to resign. I know we amended the Patriot Act...We did not amend it to prevent the confirmation process from taking place. I have had two of them asked to resign from my state with substantially good records as prosecutors, and I am very concerned. Because technically under the Patriot Act you can appoint someone without confirmation for the remainder of the President's term.
Gonzales: No evidence that is what I am trying to do. [...]
Feinstein: Was there any other reason to ask Bud Cummings of Arkansas to resign other than to put [former RNC opposition researcher and Rove aide] Tim Griffin in?
Gonzales: (won't say). . . .
Leahy: Would it be possible during lunch to get the numbers Sen. Feinstein asked for?
Gonzales: I don't want to have a public discussion about personnel decisions.....
Leahy: Just the numbers . . .
11:15am: Sen. Russell Feingold up. (paraphrased): what happened to all those inflammatory justifications for the terrorism surveillance program not being able to be submitted to FISA oversight? ...
Gonzales: Just check out the blogs today. Lots of people who think there should be no surveillance....
Feingold: (paraphrased) Falsely accusing the majority of this committee of opposing the surveilling of terrorists is not going to serve you well with this committee.