Welcome to Gonzales Watch - Blawging the Ex-Attorney General

Fired U.S. Attorneys Paul K. Charlton of Phoenix, Arizona and John McKay of Seattle, Washington told the House Committee on the Judiciary that felt that they were threatened by Michael J. Elston (inset), the Chief of Staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, and that the threat happened one day before Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 18, 2007.

According to McKay, “my handwritten and dated notes of this call reflect that I believed Mr. Elston’s tone was sinister and that he was prepared to threaten me further if he concluded I did not intend to continue to remain silent about my dismissal.”

Charlton says that “after December 7, 2006, but prior to the Attorney General’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, I received a call from Mike Elston, Chief of Staff to the DAG. In that conversation I believe that Elston was offering me a quid pro quo agreement: my silence in exchange for the Attorney General’s.”

McKay and Charlston told Congress that Elston tried to broker a deal for their silence about being fired from their U.S. Attorney positions in exchange for Gonzales not saying a thing to the Senate Judiciary Committee about why they were let go.

In other words, Elston pulled a ‘Hannibal Lecter’ on McKay and Charleston: “Quid pro quo. Yes or no? Yes or no” counselors?