White House reaffirms support for Gonzales

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush's support for Alberto Gonzales has not wavered, White House officials said after new documents cited the attorney general's presence at a meeting about the firing of U.S. prosecutors.

The Democratic-led Congress is investigating whether politics motivated the dismissals of the prosecutors and critics of Gonzales' handling of the matter have called on him to resign.

Such calls increased after documents released on Friday showed Gonzales attended a November 27 meeting to discuss a plan to remove the U.S. attorneys, who were fired 10 days later.

Gonzales said at a news conference earlier this month that he was "not involved in any discussions" about the firings. The attorney general has said chief of staff Kyle Sampson -- who has since resigned -- led the process of determining which prosecutors would be dismissed.

"The president continues to support the attorney general," White House counselor Dan Bartlett said in a statement.

White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino also reiterated Bush's confidence in Gonzales, a Texan and longtime Bush loyalist who previously served as White House counsel.

Echoing Justice Department officials, Perino said, "these new documents are not inconsistent" with previous statements.

Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said the fresh documents did not contradict Gonzales' earlier statements because there was no discussion at the November meeting about which prosecutors would be fired.

The Washington Post on Saturday reported that Ohio Rep. Paul Gillmor became the fourth Republican lawmaker to call for Gonzales to step down.

In his Saturday radio address, which was taped before the release of the new documents, Bush assailed the Democratic-led Congress for challenging him on the firing of the prosecutors.

He also defended the dismissals of eight of the 93 U.S. attorneys, saying such decisions are up to the administration.

"I strongly support the attorney general in this decision," he said.

A showdown is looming as Democrats in Congress seek testimony under oath of Bush's close political aide, Karl Rove, and other White House advisers in the U.S. attorneys matter.

Bush has offered to have the White House officials participate in closed-door interviews but they would not be under oath and there would be no transcripts. Democrats have rejected those conditions.