By Dan Eggen, Washington Post
The Justice Department is investigating whether departing Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales gave false or misleading testimony to Congress on a broad range of issues, including the Bush administration’s warrantless surveillance program and the removal of nine U.S. attorneys last year, the lead investigator said today.
The disclosure by Inspector General Glenn A. Fine shows that internal investigations that began with the prosecutor firings have widened substantially to include a focus on Gonzales’s actions and statements.
Gonzales announced Monday that he was quitting the Justice Department after seven months of sustained conflict with Congress over the prosecutor dismissals and other issues. He told aides that he had decided his credibility with lawmakers had been too severely damaged to continue in the job.
In a letter today to Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), Fine said his office “has ongoing investigations” related to Gonzales’s testimony on several key issues, including the prosecutor firings and allegations of improper hiring; the National Security Agency’s Terrorist Surveillance Program; the FBI’s use of national security letters; and allegations that Gonzales sought to improperly influence a witness who was under investigation by Congress and the Justice Department.