Gonzales lays U.S. Attorneys' firings on his departing No. 2

WASHINGTON - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday his departing No. 2 at the department, Paul McNulty, had considerable input and played a pivotal role in the decision to fire eight U.S. Attorneys.

"At the end of the day, the recommendations represented the views of the deputy attorney general. He signed off on the names," Gonzales said, speaking to a group of reporters. "He would have knowledge about the qualifications and experiences of the U.S. Attorneys and he signed off on the names."

McNulty announced yesterday that he was leaving the department, citing the financial strains of having college-aged children. He is the highest-ranking official to leave the department since the storm over the fired U.S. Attorneys arose.

Gonzales said, if he had it to do over, he would have had McNulty more directly involved in the evaluation process to determine which U.S. Attorneys to replace. That process was led by Gonzales' former chief of staff, Utah native Kyle Sampson.
"The one person I would care about are the views of the deputy attorney general," Gonzales said. "At the end of the day, my understanding was that Mr. Sampson's recommendations represented the views of the senior leadership at the department, in particular the deputy attorney general."