Former Justice Official: Fired U.S. Attorneys Among the Best

WASHINGTON — The former deputy attorney general testified Thursday that nearly all eight fired U.S. attorneys did outstanding work, contradicting statements by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

And James B. Comey, the second in command under Gonzales, said it would irreparably harm the integrity of the Justice Department if two internal probes reveal that its former White House liaison took party loyalty into account before hiring federal prosecutors.

"I don't know how you'd get the genie back into that bottle," said Comey, speaking before the House Judiciary Committee's panel on commercial and administrative law. "If that was going on it strikes at the very core of what the Justice Department is."

The alleged actions by Monica Goodling, who resigned as the department's White House liaison when the controversy first erupted, could be a violation of federal law prohibiting the consideration of party affiliation when hiring for non-political government jobs. This latest probe signals that the Justice Department's internal investigation has expanded outside the dismissals of eight U.S. attorneys last year.

But Comey also said he was not aware of any effort to fire federal prosecutors to silence political corruption investigations — the cornerstone of the House and Senate Judiciary committees' investigations.

Justice Department documents released in the congressional inquiry show that both Karl Rove, the president's senior adviser, and Harriet Miers, his former counsel, floated the idea of firing all 93 U.S. attorneys following the 2004 election.

Comey said he was not aware of that plan or any other to oust the attorneys, despite being in charge of the prosecutors until he left in August 2005.

Comey, now legal counsel at Lockheed Martin Corp., said he had to check his calendar to remember a Feb. 28, 2005, meeting with Kyle D. Sampson, Gonzales' former chief of staff. The meeting is important because Sampson testified that it was part of a plan within the department to dismiss underperforming U.S. attorneys.

"I was not aware there was any sort of process going on," Comey said. "I was not aware of any list."

At that meeting, Comey said he mentioned just one of the eight prosecutors who were fired: Kevin Ryan, the fired U.S. attorney from San Francisco.

When asked about the other prosecutors, Comey went out of his way to lavish praise. For example, he disputed previous testimony from Justice Department officials who said Bogden "lacked energy."

"I thought he was a great U.S. attorney," Comey said. "He was as straight as a Nevada highway."

In fact, Bogden was doing such a good job that he was selected to take part in an initiative to reduce violent crime during Comey's tenure.

David C. Iglesias, the fired U.S. attorney from New Mexico, was also chosen to be part of the program. Comey testified that they both did outstanding work, as did the others.

He praised Paul Charlton, the former U.S. Attorney in Arizona, for persuading him to not pursue the death penalty in one case, against the victim's family's wishes. "He turned me around," Comey said, adding that is the kind of dialogue that he sought.

And John McKay, "one of my favorites," was devoted to information sharing and finding innovative ways that law enforcement could use technology, Comey said.

As for Carol C. Lam, who was fired as U.S. attorney in California as she pursued a massive public corruption case that resulted in a former Republican congressman pleading guilty to taking $2 million in bribes: "I thought she was a fine U.S. attorney."

The controversy over the dismissed U.S. attorneys has saddened career and former political appointees, Comey said, and undermined the department's morale. Prosecutors, regardless of party affiliation, are supposed to be above reproach, he said.

In one e-mail exchange released Thursday, Comey told H.E. "Bud" Cummins III, the fired U.S. attorney from Arkansas, that watching the "maelstrom" caused him "great pain."

"I will not sit by and watch good people smeared," Comey wrote. "What's that quotation about all that's necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to remain silent?"

Few Republicans asked questions at the hearing.

Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, the ranking member of the subcommittee, said the Democrats were "grasping at straws," that nothing illegal had been uncovered in the thousands of documents turned over to committee investigators.

"It's a fishing expedition run dry," Cannon said.

But Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., chairman of the committee, said the investigation has already revealed conflicting statements from Gonzales and other high-ranking Justice Department officials; improper communications between members of Congress and some of the federal prosecutors about ongoing investigations; and an improper attempt to silence the former U.S. attorneys.

Rep. Melvin Watt, D-N.C., said the congressional investigation has prompted internal inquiries about whether Monica Goodling, the department's former White House liaison, administered loyalty tests before hiring staff prosecutors.

"We have an obligation to get to the bottom of this and to reassure the public that there is no wrongdoing, if in fact that is the case," Watt said.

On the Web:

The House Judiciary Committee: judiciary.house.gov