White House reaffirms support for Gonzales

By Caren Bohan

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.