U.S. attorney controversy flares up again

The controversy surrounding the firings of several former U.S. attorneys, including David Iglesias of New Mexico, has flared up again this week with a possible perjury probe against Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and a subpoena for White House Political Director Karl Rove.

Gonzales’ job once again appears in jeopardy after he testified before a Congressional panel on Wednesday. Four Democratic senators wrote the U.S. solicitor general today asking for the appointment of an independent council to investigate the truthfulness of Gonzales’ sworn testimony about the U.S. attorney controversy and President Bush’s warrantless domestic spying program, the Associated Press is reporting.

Gonzales’ previous testimony in the U.S. attorney controversy contradicted that of employees who work below him. And the FBI director became today the newest official to contradict testimony Gonzales gave Wednesday about the spying program.

Also today, the Senate Judiciary Committee issued subpoenas for Rove and another Bush aide. Other White House staffers and former staffers have refused to testify under oath, with the president claiming executive privilege. On Wednesday, a House subcommittee approved contempt of Congress charges against one current and one former White House official who rejected subpoenas to testify on the U.S. attorney firings.

The charges must still be approved by the full House, which could happen in August.

As has been the case for awhile, a bipartisan group of members of Congress are skeptical of the stories being relayed as truth by the Bush Administration in the U.S. attorney scandal and other controversies. The belief that Gonzales is repeatedly lying to Congress – and covering up deeper problems – is spreading rapidly.

What’s the New Mexico impact? You may recall me writing in April that Gonzales talked with Rove and Bush about Iglesias before the former U.S. attorney was fired. You may also recall me writing in March that Rove took complaints from New Mexico Republicans about Iglesias to the Department of Justice.

But we haven’t ever had a good answer from the Bush Administration about why Iglesias was added to the firing list. We know Rove was involved, as was Gonzales, and that Bush was briefed on the situation. We know that U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., had complained to the administration for years about Iglesias.

And we know that Domenici and U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., made the now-infamous phone calls (click here to read about Domenici’s and here to read about Wilson’s) to Iglesias shortly before the November 2006 election to inquire about indictments in a massive public corruption probe.

Do we know all the facts about this situation? Gonzales’ contradictions, and the refusal of White House officials to testify, has led most Democrats and a number of Republicans in Congress to believe that we do not, and that there may be a larger cover-up.

Wilson will be in for a tough re-election fight next year. Domenici is dogged by the lowest approval rating of his career, but hasn’t yet drawn a top-tier Democratic challenger for the 2008 election.

Additional revelations, should any be out there, could further dog both and threaten their political careers. What appears certain is that neither Congress nor Bush plans to back down anytime soon, so the controversy isn’t likely to go away quietly.