Justice report: U.S. attorney firings had political intent

Last update: September 28, 2008 - 11:09 PM

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WASHINGTON - A Justice Department report to be released today offers a blistering critique of the political motivations that led to the firings of a group of U.S. attorneys in late 2006, but it stops short of recommending criminal charges against former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales or others, officials said.

The department's inspector general and its Office of Professional Responsibility have been investigating the firings since last year, trying to determine who in the Bush administration ordered the firings, whether the dismissals were intended to thwart investigations and whether anyone had broken the law in carrying them out or in testifying about them.

Justice officials refused to discuss the report before its release. A lawyer for Gonzales declined to comment.

Gonzales, who resigned last year under fire because of the firings, has been the focus, in part because several members of Congress charged he may have perjured himself in testimony about the firings.

The report is expected to recommend that investigators continue to pursue some elements of the case, meaning that legal questions around Gonzales would continue.

One former official with knowledge of the probe, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that criticism in the report was expected to center on Gonzales' chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, who carried out the firings of eight prosecutors. The report was also expected to produce evidence that Sampson was carrying out directives from more senior officials, including former White House adviser Karl Rove and former White House counsel Harriet Miers. A lawyer for Sampson declined to comment.

NEW YORK TIMES

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