DoJ Officials Point to Sampson, Sampson Points Back

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http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002792.php

DoJ Officials Point to Sampson, Sampson Points Back
By Paul Kiel - March 18, 2007, 10:07 AM

From Newsweek:

...a pair of senior Justice officials gave accounts to lawmakers that were, at best, incomplete. At a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, William Moschella, a top aide to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, vigorously defended the firings of the U.S. attorneys as a purely managerial move that had originated within the Justice Department. He said nothing about any nudging from the White House. McNulty had earlier given similar testimony, saying the attorneys had been let go for "job performance" reasons, an assertion that infuriated the fired prosecutors. But the two Justice officials have told colleagues that when they saw the e-mail accounts showing the attorney-purge idea had originated in the White House, they were surprised and appalled. "I felt sick," Moschella told NEWSWEEK. "I basically saw my professional life flash before my eyes." Moschella and McNulty blamed Sampson. The attorney general's chief of staff had sat in as they prepped for their testimony and "never said a word," according to a Justice Department official who wished to remain anonymous discussing a private meeting.

Sampson's lawyer, of course, released a statement late Friday that significantly dispersed the blame. According to him, "a number of other senior officials at the Department, including others who were involved in preparing the Department's testimony to Congress" knew about the White House involvement. They didn't bring it up, says Sampson, because "no one focused on it or deemed it important at the time."

But that certainly doesn't sound like McNulty and Moschella's view of things. Fortunately, all three men are scheduled to make appearances before the House and Senate judicial committees, so they'll have plenty of chances to lay blame.