Gonzales shrugs off giving away Bogden’s job

Friday, May 11, 2007 | 7:25 a.m.

WASHINGTON - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday he saw nothing wrong with firing Nevada U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden so that a Republican newcomer could use the job as a launching pad for other positions in law or politics.

The attorney general's comment drew harsh rebuke from some Nevada lawmakers and renewed calls for his resignation.

"The fact that this administration thinks there is nothing wrong with firing one of the most competent U.S. attorneys in the country - and one of the most competent U.S. attorneys to serve in the state of Nevada - so they could pad the resume of a wannabe is outrageous," Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley said.

"I don't know how much lower they can sink, but this is inexcusable," she said. "The fact that he doesn't realize it's inexcusable is even more shocking."

Berkley and Republican Rep. Jon Porter said Gonzales' comments reemphasize the need for Gonzales to go.

Gonzales returned to Capitol Hill as House Republicans regrouped around the embattled attorney general, who just weeks ago appeared on the brink of losing his job over the unprecedented firing of eight U.S. attorneys in a White House-initiated plan that has tarnished the independence of the Justice Department.

In stark contrast with the grilling Gonzales got from Senate Republicans, the House Judiciary Committee's Republicans stood virtually en masse behind him and criticized the congressional investigation.

The ranking Republican, Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, suggested in opening remarks that, "If there are no fish in this lake, we should reel in our lines."

But Democrats pressed Gonzales during six hours of testimony to say something that would help to restore their confidence in the Justice Department.

Gonzales gave the same answers as those that angered senators last month, repeatedly explaining that he delegated the firing plan to his staff and did not know why Bogden and the others were singled out.

Justice staff members have since testified that they did not make the decisions, leaving the question unresolved.

Gonzales was asked only briefly about Bogden. The Nevadan had previously testified that he was told by the No. 3 official at the Justice Department he was being let go Dec. 7 so the Bush administration could give the job to a Republican to gain experience for a federal judgeship or political office.

When Gonzales was asked whether it was his practice to use the U.S. attorney jobs as launching pads for up-and-comers, the attorney general said , "there would be nothing improper in doing so."

"I would make sure we had good people in these positions," he testified. "The success of the office does not live or die by the U.S. attorney."

California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, a former assistant U.S. attorney, was outraged by the comment: "For you to come here to say there's nothing wrong with firing a prosecutor to make room for someone else ... I hope you would resign."