DoJ Do-Over
Shortly before former Justice Department Chief of Staff Kyle Sampson testified before the Senate judiciary committee about the U.S. attorney firings, Sampson's former colleague, Acting Assistant Attorney General and legislative liaison Richard Hertling, sent a "do-over" note (below) to the House judiciary committee. Previously, Hertling had written to Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., denying that "Karl Rove play[ed] any role in the decision" to replace the U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Arkansas with a former Rove aide. Whoops! In his note to House members, Herling conceded that his denial was now "contradicted" by Justice Department documents.
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StumbleUponHertling's trouble started in January, when Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testified before the Senate judiciary committee. Gonzales insisted that he "would never, ever make a change in a U.S. attorney position for political reasons." But in February, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty testified that the Arkansas U.S. attorney was indeed fired so Rove's man could have the job. A few days after that, Schumer and three other members of the Senate judiciary committee asked Gonzales to resolve this contradiction. See Page 2 for Sampson's first draft letter (via e-mail to Hertling and others at Justice) suggesting language to deny that Rove played a role in the switch. On Pages 3 through 7 are two subsequent drafts of Hertling's Senate letter, which Hertling now concedes was untrue.
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