Lawmakers assail focus on prosecutor

Lawmakers assail focus on prosecutor

Lawmakers assail focus on prosecutor

After learning Maine's U.S. attorney was targeted for ouster, Maine's senators rebuke Alberto Gonzales.

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By KEVIN WACK, Staff Writer May 18, 2007

Following the revelation that the Bush administration long considered firing Maine's U.S. attorney, the state's two Republican senators sharply criticized Attorney General Alberto Gonzales but stopped short of calling for his resignation.

"Although Mr. Gonzales serves at the pleasure of the President," Sen. Olympia Snowe said Thursday in a written statement, "the President must recognize that the cumulative and troubling pattern of developments that have been disclosed over the past several months has undermined confidence in the Attorney General's ability to serve as the chief law enforcement officer of the United States."

"The President should give these facts serious consideration."

Sen. Susan Collins stressed in a telephone interview that the decision is President Bush's, but also said, "I think the attorney general's credibility has been incredibly damaged."

Gonzales is under growing pressure from Congress, largely over last year's firings of eight U.S. attorneys and lingering questions about their motivation. Five Republican senators have joined Democrats in calling for his resignation.