Welcome to Gonzales Watch - Blawging the Ex-Attorney General

Wasting no time in answering Goodling’s testimony this morning where she portrayed Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty as a scapegoat in the U.S. Attorney firings controversy, McNulty (inset, left) fired back with a response this afternoon.

“I testified truthfully at the Feb. 6, 2007, hearing based on what I knew at that time. Ms. Goodling’s characterization of my testimony is wrong and not supported by the extensive record of documents and testimony already provided to Congress.”

McNulty announced last week that he would be resigning from the second-highest lawyer position at the Justice Department by the end of the summer.

Immediately after McNulty tendered his resignation letter, Gonzales praised his colleague, saying he was “valued here at the Department…as both a colleague and a friend.”

The very next day, Gonzales stabbed him in the back in a speech and Q&A with reporters at the National Press Club, saying that McNulty bore responsibility for the firing of U.S. Attorneys.

“At the end of the day,” Gonzales told reporters, “the recommendationon [on which U.S. Attorneys should be fired and lose their jobs] reflected the views of the Deupty Attorney General. He signed off on the names. He would know better than anyone else, anyone in this room. Anyone. Again, the Deputy Attorney General would know best about the qualification and experiences of the United States Attorney community, and he signed off on the names.”

In exchange for a court-ordered grant of immunity from prosecution, Monica Goodling testified before the House Judiciary Committee today.

The former Senior Counsel to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and DOJ Liaison to the White House. Following in Gonzales’ footsteps, Goodling alleges that soon-to-be resigning Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty should be blamed in the U.S. Attorney firings scandal.

Here is Goodling’s prepared testimony.

In exchange for receiving immunity, former Senior Counsel to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Monica Goodling is scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary Committee this morning about her knowledge and role in the U.S. Attorney firings scandal.

Goodling is believed to have intimate knowledge of politically motivated hiring and firing of career U.S. Attorneys who were believed to have been fired at the request of White House officials. In her role as the Justice Department’s liaison to the White House, Goodling is thought to have communicated with Karl Rove on more than a few occasions about these firings.