Nevada Republican congressman calls for Gonzales to step down

Saturday, April 21, 2007 | 9:36 a.m.

LAS VEGAS - U.S. Rep. Jon Porter of Nevada has become the latest Republican to urge Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to step down, saying the firing of eight U.S. attorneys was "egregiously mishandled."

The third-term congressman said he took the position after hearing Gonzales' testimony Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Gonzales insisted at the hearing that he did nothing improper in firing the federal prosecutors, including Nevada's Daniel Bogden.

"I feel the American people have lost confidence in the attorney general and the management of the Department of Justice," Porter told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Friday. "At a time when our country's at war and with many other challenges, we need to restore confidence."

Porter joins at least five other Republican congressmen, including Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and John Sununu of New Hampshire, in calling for Gonzales to resign. Gonzales has given no indication he would quit and the Bush administration continues to support him.

Porter said he thinks Gonzales has been a good prosecutor but a poor manager. He said the testimony showed Gonzales "made the wrong decision, especially in Nevada."

At the hearing, lawmakers confronted Gonzales with documents and sworn testimony they said showed he was more involved in the dismissals than he contended. Gonzales insisted there was nothing improper about the firings but acknowledged the case had been badly handled.

"He's done a fine job as attorney general, but his management has been questionable," Porter said. "How this was handled is his responsibility as head of the Department of Justice, and from what I was able to listen to, I don't feel he handled it properly or his staff handled it properly. It's a chain of command, and he's at the top."

While Congress is investigating whether the firings were politically motivated, Porter said he does not have a fundamental problem with U.S. attorneys being political appointments.

"That's how the process has worked for decades," he said. "They are appointed, they are at-will. But when you appoint someone, there needs to be a reason" to fire the person.

Porter's 3rd Congressional District around Las Vegas is nearly evenly divided among Republicans and Democrats.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., who recommended Bogden for appointment, has been sharply critical of Gonzales but has stopped short of calling for his resignation.

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Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com

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