http://www.star-telegram.com/226/story/76256.html

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Focus of inquiry may shift to White House
By MARGARET TALEV and RON HUTCHESON
McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Sat, Apr. 21, 2007

GONZALES WASHINGTON -- The Senate Judiciary Committee's grilling of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Thursday failed to resolve the central questions: Who in the Bush administration conceived the plan to fire eight U.S. attorneys and why?

Gonzales' testimony Thursday left senators convinced that he wasn't behind the plan or its execution and knew far less than a department head should have about the details. Former and current members of Gonzales' staff who've been interviewed by congressional investigators have also said their roles were limited or nonexistent.

Some see signs pointing to the White House and the president's political adviser, Karl Rove.

"If I were Congress, I would say, 'If the attorney general doesn't have answers, then who would?' There's enough evidence to indicate that Karl Rove was involved up to his eyeballs," said David Iglesias, the former New Mexico U.S. attorney and one of the eight fired last year.

Democrats say that even if Gonzales steps down -- he says he won't despite widespread Republican disappointment with his performance -- they'll continue their probe into whether politics inappropriately influenced the firings.

"The arrow points more and more to the White House," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. "The one thing I can assure you of: This is not over, far from it."

That's why some Republicans think Gonzales should stay on the job.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told Gonzales in a telephone call Friday that the worst was probably over for him and that stepping down wouldn't necessarily help the president.

In a statement he released later in the day, Cornyn said, "Democrats see an opportunity to score a lot of political points, so I don't necessarily believe that the attorney general's resignation would quell the Democrats' desire to continue with a partisan fishing expedition."

Some Republicans also want to know more about Rove's role.

"Those questions are going to be outstanding to the White House people," Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., immediate past chairman of the judiciary panel, said after Gonzales' testimony.

"I believe we will have an opportunity to question them," Specter said. "What the quality of the answers will be remains to be seen."

Others say Gonzales should consider resigning.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., told Gonzales, "You should have said no" to whoever wanted to fire the attorneys. He said Friday that Gonzales should "take the weekend" to re-evaluate. "If he and the president decide that he cannot be an effective leader moving forward, then he should resign," Sessions said.

Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Fla. and chairman of the House Republican Conference, said that Gonzales' tenure is hurting the president's policy agenda and that he's worried that Democrats are looking for any reason to get Rove under oath.