Bush defends Gonzales, but says he’s ‘not happy’

President George W. Bush says he is troubled that the Justice Department misled Congress on why it fired eight U.S. attorneys, but defended Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and said he will fix mistakes.

“Mistakes were made, and I’m frankly not happy about them,” Bush told reporters at a news conference in Mexico, where he is visiting. “Any time anybody goes up to Capitol Hill, they’ve got to make sure they fully understand the facts and how they characterize the issue to members of Congress. And the fact that both Republicans and Democrats feel like there was not straightforward communication troubles me.”

Bush also pointed out that Gonzales has apologized and taken responsibility for making mistakes. Gonzales has also refused calls for his resignation.

Bush defended the firings as “entirely appropriate,” the Associated Press reported, noting that U.S. Attorneys serve at his pleasure.

The firings came following a two-year process that began with a suggestion from the former White House counsel that all U.S. attorneys be fired. Congress is investigating whether the firings were political and who was involved.

Bush said he recalled receiving complaints about attorneys and speaking with senators about the attorneys, but didn’t name specific senators.

White House officials have said Bush spoke with U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., last year. Domenici complained about former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, who was fired on Dec. 7. Bush also said he spoke with Gonzales about the situation.

“But I never brought up a specific case or gave him specific instructions,” the news service reported. “What Al did and what the Justice Department did was appropriate. … What was mishandled was the explanation of the cases to the Congress.”

Update, 1:45 p.m.

The White House acknowledged today for the first time that Bush and Gonzales spoke specifically about complaints about Iglesias, the Albuquerque Tribune is reporting.

Bush did not tell Gonzales to fire Iglesias, White House counselor Dan Bartlett was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

Bartlett also, for the first time, citied Iglesias’ prosecution of former state Treasurer Robert Vigil as a factor in his firing. He said that, when Vigil was acquitted on all but one of 24 felony counts he faced, “it was a devastating loss for the government.”

Update, 5:10 p.m.

Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., has become the first Congressional Republican to call for Gonzales’ firing. And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has predicted that Gonzales will be out within “days.”

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