WASHINGTON – Sen. Maria Cantwell called Wednesday for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign, citing his testimony about the firing of former U.S. Attorney John McKay of Seattle.
The Washington state Democrat said Gonzales gave contradictory statements about why McKay was fired as U.S. attorney for Western Washington.
Gonzales testified under oath last week that McKay was forced to resign because there were serious concerns about his judgment. But Gonzales also said that when he accepted a staff recommendation to fire McKay last December, he did not know the details of Justice Department concerns about McKay.
McKay, ordered to resign last Dec. 7, was one of eight U.S. attorneys fired last winter. Several months earlier, his office had received a glowing evaluation. He said he was given no explanation and told of no performance problems, leading to allegations that his firing – and those of the others – was motivated by partisan politics.
Some Republicans had complained to the Bush administration that McKay, a Republican appointed by Bush in 2001, did not diligently investigate claims of voter fraud during Washington’s 2004 gubernatorial election. McKay says there was no evidence of voter fraud.
“John McKay served honorably as the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington,” Cantwell said in a statement. “Throughout his appointment, McKay acted with great respect for the laws of this country and was well respected by the legal community, the law enforcement community and many advocates throughout Western Washington.”
Cantwell said she was troubled by McKay’s firing and the way it was handled.
“I was frankly perplexed by the attorney general’s testimony … . about John McKay’s tenure as U.S. attorney,” she said, calling McKay’s treatment by the Justice Department “appalling.”
The other seven firings also raise more questions than were answered, Cantwell said. “It is rare to turn out one U.S. attorney, never mind eight,” she said.
Cantwell, who voted against Gonzales’ nomination in 2005, joins a growing chorus of Democrats calling for Gonzales to step down.
Democrats say they want to force into the open the story of why the eight U.S. attorneys were fired and whether they were singled out to influence corruption cases. Republicans point out that Gonzales survived a brutal Senate hearing last week with President Bush’s support and no evidence of wrongdoing in the attorney firings.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., also voted against Gonzales but has not called for him to step down.
A spokeswoman said Wednesday that Murray did not have confidence in Gonzales’ ability to do the job without bias. Murray “is letting the Judiciary Committee do its investigation and has confidence that they will hold the right people accountable,” spokeswoman Alex Glass said.
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