WASHINGTON — Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales, told by President Bush to repair relations with Congress over his handling of the U.S. attorneys affair, instead suffered new and withering criticism from senators of both parties Thursday, including questions about his judgment, candor and fitness to serve.
Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in what one lawmaker called a "reconfirmation hearing," Gonzales apologized for what he described as a flawed process in which a group of young political appointees at the Justice Department led a review that resulted in the firings of eight U.S. attorneys last year.
But his credibility took a fresh hit when he tried to downplay his involvement in the dismissals even as documents and testimony from top aides in recent weeks have shown that he played a central role. His inability to recall basic facts at the hearing -- he answered "I don't recall" more than 50 times -- also often baffled and bewildered lawmakers.
"Your characterization of your participation is significantly, if not totally, at variance with the facts," said Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the ranking Republican on the committee.
Gonzales was unable to identify who at the Justice Department and the White House was involved in preparing the final list of prosecutors to be fired.
Several lawmakers said he demonstrated a distressing lack of knowledge about the attorneys' performance before he decided to dismiss them.
Rather, Gonzales testified that he relied on the "consensus recommendation of people that I trusted," admitting that he knew little or nothing about two of seven of the prosecutors who were fired on a single day in December.
He also said he could not remember the date when he finally approved the dismissals.
"Well, how can you be sure you made the decision?" asked Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.).
Lawmakers also challenged Gonzales on how he could make an informed judgment about firing attorneys when his involvement, by his own admission, was limited.
"Since you apparently knew very little about the performance about the replaced United States attorneys, how can you testify that the judgment ought to stand?" asked Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.). "How can you know that none of them were removed for improper reasons?"
Several lawmakers said the reasons Gonzales offered for the dismissals -- including a lack of energy in the case of one fired prosecutor -- sounded contrived. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called the explanations "a stretch."
