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FBI Chief's Testimony Contradicts Gonzales

Democrats demand perjury probe

By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 27, 2007 5:14 AM CDT

(Newser) – Pressure mounted on Alberto Gonzales yesterday as FBI director Robert Mueller directly contradicted the attorney general in testimony before the House Judiciary Committee. Mueller and Gonzales gave dramatically different accounts about  whether the Justice department's secret eavesdropping program was the subject of the now-legendary nighttime confrontation at the hospital bedside of then-Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Mueller said yesterday it was; Gonzales insisted the day before it wasn't. Democrats called on the Justice Department to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate whether Gonzales lied. "He tells the half truth, the partial truth and anything but the truth," quipped Sen. Charles Schumer. A Justice Department spokesman said that "confusion is inevitable when complicated classified activities are discussed in a public forum."

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 24, 2007,  before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his role in the firing of federal prosecutors.   (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 24, 2007, before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his role in the firing of federal prosecutors. (AP...   (Associated Press)
FBI Director Robert Mueller testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 26, 2007, before the House Judiciary Committee.  (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)
FBI Director Robert Mueller testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 26, 2007, before the House Judiciary Committee. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)   (Associated Press)
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 24, 2007, before the Senate Judiciary Committee.   (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 24, 2007, before the Senate Judiciary Committee. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)   (Associated Press)
Senate Judiciary Committee member, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., speaks to reporters following a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 26, 2007, to discuss Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and his role in the firing of U.S. prosecutors.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Senate Judiciary Committee member, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., speaks to reporters following a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 26, 2007, to discuss Attorney General Alberto...   (Associated Press)
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 26, 2007, where he, and fellow Senate Democrats called for a perjury investigation against Attorney General Alberto Gonzales . (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke)
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 26, 2007, where he, and fellow Senate Democrats called for a perjury investigation against...   (Associated Press)
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