It wasn't a complete waste. During yesterday's testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty suggested that a U.S. Attorney was fired partly due to complaints from a Republican senator (Washington Post). McNulty did not disclose this during his congressional testimony in February (The Hill).
McNulty didn't seem to say "I don't recall" as often as Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Brad Schlozman did when they were under oath. Instead, McNulty didn't know a lot, he said, because he was kept out of the loop. (See video.) McNulty is one of five Justice officials to resign since the scandal erupted.
In her May testimony, Monica Goodling (ex-DoJ Liaison to the White House) accused McNulty of not being candid with Congress during his prior testimony....
Yesterday, McNulty carefully avoided counter-attacking Goodling.
Goodling also had said that McNulty told her to not attend McNulty's prior Congressional interviews, because people might recognize her as the White House liaison and might suspect improper White House involvement in the scandal.
Rep. Ric Keller (R-FL) came to McNulty's defense, implying that Goodling's testimony might have been fueled by personal anger (see video).
The investigations began five months ago, yet two of Congress's key questions have not been answered: 1) who placed the nine U.S. Attorneys on the to-be-fired list, and 2) for what reasons?
Despite unanswered questions, Rep. Mike Cannon (R-UT) seemed to want to stop the probe quickly, accusing Democrats of continuing it merely to "embarrass" President Bush. Reps. Tom Feeney (R-FL) and Steve King (R-IA) made similar statements during Goodling's May testimony. See related posts:
Senate Subpoenas DoJ Officials and White House
Schlozman Alters Testimony and Seeks Loopholes
Karl Rove Tied to Dem Governor's Prosecution
Jon Stewart Shows Holes in Justice Officials' Testimony
Comments