9:53 AM EDT
In his opening statement, Chairman John Conyers laid out the case before
the committee, describing the need to garner answers to Congressional questions regarding the creation of the US attorney firing list. In his statement he said that he did not want to hold "meet us at the pub for fish and chips" conversations with administration officials. He wants on-the-record interviews with Presidential Aide Karl Rove, former White House Counsel Harriet Miers, and others. Conyers also made clear that the White House may have broken the Presidential Records Act in using Republican National Convention email accounts to conduct official business. Also he said that the committee would be investigating possible violations of the Hatch Act, the law which prevents presidents from using federal resources for electioneering, campaign strategy and fundraising. - Matt Renner
10:05 AM EDT
Gonzales just delivered a wholly self-serving opening statement in which he claimed to have been completely forthcoming with all details on the matter before the committee. Somehow, one hundred "I don't recall" answers don't strike me as being forthcoming. Representative Conyers, in response, is hammering Gonzales with one question: "How was this list of fired US attorneys assembled and why?" Gonzales appears to be trying to scapegoat Kyle Sampson, but Conyers isn't buying. "You can answer this in three sentences," says Conyers. The chairman is heated this morning and Gonzales has nowhere to hide. - William Rivers Pitt
10:07 AM EDT
Representative Lamar Smith (R-Texas) is providing a softball forum for Gonzales, asking him if he or the White House did anything improper. - Victoria Harper
10:17 AM EDT
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales just said that the attorney general in Los Angeles, Debra Yang, left her position in October 2006 because she suffered from a financial hardship. Yang, who was investigating public corruption charges surrounding Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-California), was hired by Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher of Los Angeles - the firm defending Lewis on the corruption charges - and received a $1.5 million signing bonus when she was hired. - Jason Leopold
11:00 AM EDT
The committee is in recess for a House floor vote and will resume shortly. - Victoria Harper
11:04 AM EDT
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-California), raised the retirement of Todd Graves, former US Attorney in Kansas City, Missouri. According to press reports, Graves became a target of the US attorney purge in January of 2006. Graves refused to sign on to a voter-registration lawsuit against the state of Missouri. The suit was intended to force Missouri to purge its voting rolls of outdated registrations in advance of the 2006 midterm elections. This purge process has come under scrutiny from civil rights groups because it has allegedly been used to disenfranchise voters. After his retirement, Graves was replaced by Bradley Schlozman. As deputy US attorney, Schlozman was a driving force for the Missouri lawsuit. -Matt Renner
11:09 AM EDT
The committee room is packed with members of Congress, committee staff and Justice Department officials. Missing are members of the public.... There were about a dozen seats in the beginning that were occupied by Code Pink, but they were quietly escorted out when they revealed that they were wearing orange jumpsuits. - Scott Galindez
11:10 AM EDT
House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers said he received anonymous letter from career Justice Department employees suggesting that candidates for hire were subjected to "political litmus tests." Conyers is referring to a claim made public over the past couple of weeks that former DOJ-White House liaison Monica Goodling, who Gonzales authorized to hire DOJ officials and assistant prosecutors, checked to make sure the individuals who were hired for various positions were allegedly Republicans, in violation of federal law. - Jason Leopold
11:14 AM EDT
A point of reference: Gonzales used to work for the Texas-based law firm Vinson & Elkins, best known for its work representing the Enron Corporation. -Jason Leopold
11:26 AM EDT
In a replay of the Judiciary Committee hearing from earlier this morning, Congressman John Conyers questioned Gonzales about the circumstances that led to the creation of a "list" that identified certain US attorneys to be fired. Gonzales, without being able to directly answer how the list was created, placed blame for the fallout that resulted from the firings on his former Chief of Staff Kyle Sampson, who has since resigned. Gonzales insinuated that the firings were based on performance related issues, despite the fact that the US attorneys who were removed received impeccable evaluations. -Jason Leopold
11:48 AM EDT
During the recess, the group from Code Pink returned still wearing the orange jumpsuits. They were threatened with removal unless they took them off, which they did. So now there about a dozen members of the public in the room again. - Scott Galindez
11:55 AM EDT
Watching the replay of this hearing is revelatory. Gonzales has been asked several blunt, simple questions, and has once again failed to deliver answers of any content whatsoever. He has likewise been aided by GOP committee members, who used their time to ask questions about intellectual property law and Rep. Jefferson's ethics lapses, neither of which is within a light year of being relevant to the matter at hand. Add to that an inter-committee squabble over the alleged use of the word "Target" by Rep. Sanchez that tacked on for many long minutes. These attempts to derail the main focus of the hearing speak volumes. - William Rivers Pitt
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