Timeline: Behind the Firing of Eight U.S. Attorneys

by Ari Shapiro 

Former White Counsel Harriet Miers initially proposed firing all 93 U.S. attorneys near the beginning of President Bush's second term. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, whittled that number down to eight. Sampson resigned this week. Getty Images

The E-Mail Trail

In response to congressional inquiries, the Department of Justice released a series of internal communications –- including e-mails with White House staff — that preceded the firing of eight U.S. attorneys.

• DOJ Documents, Part 1(Requires Adobe Acrobat)
• DOJ Documents, Part 2(Requires Adobe Acrobat)
• DOJ Documents, Part 3(Requires Adobe Acrobat)
• DOJ Documents, Part 4(Requires Adobe Acrobat)

Mark Wilson

At a March 13 press conference, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales admits that "mistakes were made" in how the Justice Department handled the recent firings of eight U.S. attorneys. Getty Images

In Depth

• March 8, 2007
  Fired U.S. Attorneys: A Who's Who

NPR.org, March 14, 2007 · The Bush administration fired seven U.S. attorneys on a single day last December. After Democrats took control of both chambers of Congress in January, they began hearings into whether those dismissals — as well as an earlier one in June 2006 — were politically motivated. Political furor has ensued. Follow events so far:

February 2005: Then-White House Counsel Harriet Miers suggests to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, that all 93 U.S. attorneys be replaced.

March 2, 2005: Sampson e-mails Miers a chart, categorizing U.S. attorneys into one of three groups based on whether they have "produced, managed well, and exhibited loyalty to the President and Attorney General."

Jan. 9, 2006: Sampson e-mails Miers to recommend firing "a limited number of U.S. attorneys."

March 9, 2006: President Bush signs the USA PATRIOT Act reauthorization into law. One provision allows the attorney general to appoint replacement U.S. attorneys indefinitely without Senate confirmation.

May 11, 2006: Sampson e-mails White House official William Kelley, "Please call me at your convenience to discuss … the real problem we have right now with [San Diego U.S. Attorney] Carol Lam that leads me to conclude that we should have someone ready to be nominated on 11/18, the day after her 4-year term expires."

The Los Angeles Times reports that Lam's corruption investigation of Republican Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham has expanded to include another Republican congressman from California, Jerry Lewis.

June 2006: The Justice Department dismisses H.E. "Bud" Cummins III of Arkansas. His replacement, J. Timothy Griffin, was an aide to White House adviser Karl Rove.

Sept. 13, 2006: Sampson writes an e-mail to Miers urging the administration to circumvent Congress in appointing replacement U.S. attorneys: "I strongly recommend that, as a matter of administration policy, we utilize the new statutory provisions that authorize the AG [attorney general] to make USA [U.S. attorney] appointments … we can give far less deference to home-state Senators and thereby get (1) our preferred person appointed and (2) do it far faster and more efficiently, at less political cost to the White House."

Fall 2006: President Bush meets with Attorney General Gonzales and relays general complaints about U.S. attorneys' performance, without naming specific prosecutors.

October 2006: Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) each call U.S. Attorney David Iglesias to ask about a federal corruption probe into some New Mexico Democrats.

The Justice Department adds Iglesias to a list of U.S. attorneys slated for dismissal.

Nov. 15, 2006: Sampson e-mails Miers, copying Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty on the message. Sampson writes, "I am concerned that to execute this plan [firing seven U.S. attorneys simultaneously] properly we must all be on the same page and be steeled to withstand any political upheaval that might result. If we start caving to complaining U.S. attorneys or Senators then we shouldn't do it — it'll be more trouble than it's worth."

Dec. 2, 2006: Sampson e-mails Justice official Michael Elston, "still waiting for green light from White House [to fire U.S. attorneys]."

Dec. 7, 2006: The Justice Department dismisses seven U.S. attorneys: Daniel Bogden of Nevada, Paul Charlton of Arizona, Margaret Chiara of Michigan, David Iglesias of New Mexico, Carol Lam of San Diego, John McKay of Seattle, and Kevin Ryan of San Francisco.

Jan. 12, 2007: Three senators propose legislation to restore Senate authority to oversee U.S. attorney appointments.

Jan. 18, 2007: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee: "I would never, ever make a change in a United States attorney position for political reasons, or if it would in any way jeopardize an ongoing serious investigation." (Hear Gonzales' testimony.)

Feb. 7, 2007: Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee: "In every single case where a United States attorney position is vacant, the administration is committed to filling that position with the United States attorney who is confirmed by the Senate." (Hear NcNulty testify.)

March 6, 2007: Former U.S. attorneys testify before Congress. Some say they believe they were fired for political reasons.

March 9, 2007: Attorney General Gonzales says he will not fight congressional proposals to undo the PATRIOT Act provision that gave him more authority to appoint replacement U.S. attorneys.

March 12, 2007: Sampson resigns after admitting that he did not tell Justice Department officials about the extent of his communications with the White House.

March 13, 2007: The Justice Department sends documents to Capitol Hill detailing the correspondence between White House and Justice Department officials over the U.S. attorneys issue. Gonzales insists he will not resign amid calls for his ouster. He cancels travel plans and holds a press conference to say, "Mistakes were made." (Hear Gonzales apologize.)

March 14, 2007: President Bush says at a press conference in Mexico, "I do have confidence in Attorney General Al Gonzales." Mr. Bush says the firings were mishandled, and he's not happy about it. He says, "Al was right: Mistakes were made. And he's going to go up to Capitol Hill to correct them."