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Another Top Gonzales Aide Quits
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ShareApril 06, 2007 5:12 PM
ABC News' Theresa Cook and Jason Ryan Report: A second top aide to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has quit amid the fallout of the controversial firing of eight U.S. attorneys last year.
Monica Goodling, Gonzales' senior counsel and the Justice Department's White House liaison, will officially leave her post tomorrow. She has been on paid leave since late March.
Goodling started drawing attention after her attorney informed the House and Senate Judiciary Committees of Goodling's decision to invoke her Fifth Amendment rights to stay silent if called to testify before Congress about her role in the firings.
Goodling's announcement came after the Justice Department stated it would fully cooperate with investigations into the matter. Officials had already begun studying internal policy guidelines to determine if the department could compel its employees to testify before Congress.
E-mails and internal documents released by the Justice Department show Goodling, along with the attorney general's former chief of staff D. Kyle Sampson, who resigned March 12, was heavily involved in discussions about and planning of the firings. Sampson testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee March 29.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a leading critic of the Justice Department's handling of the attorney firings, says the the departures of Goodling and Sampson suggest that Gonzales' authority is crumbling. "Attorney General Gonzales's hold on the Department gets more tenuous each day," Schumer said.
In a letter sent to Gonzales today, Goodling said, "I am hereby submitting my resignation to the Office of the Attorney General, effective April 7, 2007. It has been an honor to have served at the Department of Justice for the past five years. May God bless you richly as you continue your service to America."
One of Goodling's attorneys confirmed her resignation to ABC News, but declined to comment on the reasons behind her decision.
April 6, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (1)
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The rats are always the first to know the ship is sinking.
I would like to know more about these aides who are fleeing. Like why they're in such a hurry now to leave. Why not 6 months ago when things were different.
And I would like to know what else they know, and who else is involved.
And I would like their computers and paper files to be searched.
ABC, I eagerly anticiapte seeing follow up on some of these, but feel free to come up with your own questions about these quitters, and then proceed to uncover the truth.
Posted by: georgembush | Apr 6, 2007 7:31:37 PM
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