Gonzales Changes Story Again on Cummins

Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Under questioning from Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), Alberto Gonzales gave a rundown of the supposed performance reasons behind the firing of each prosecutor. In most cases, his answers lined up with prior explanations from Justice Department officials, particularly answers given by William Moschella when he testified last month.

But there was one notable admission. Gonzales said that Bud Cummins was asked to step down just because the department wanted to “put a qualified individual in his place.” In other words, there was not a performance reason for his firing. Gonzales said that he’d failed to indicate that in his January testimony before the Senate because he was “confused,” since Cummins had first been asked to resign in June, not December.

Apparently Gonzales was still confused in February, though, because he was upset about Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty’s testimony that there had been no performance reasons behind Cummins’ firing.

Latest Muckraker
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: