WASHINGTON—An aide to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Monday invoked her constitutional right against self-incrimination and refused to testify before a Senate panel investigating the firing of eight prosecutors.
Monica Goodling, who was involved in the firings, said: "I have decided to follow my lawyer's advice and respectfully invoke my constitutional right because the ... circumstances present a perilous environment in which to testify."
Democrats, who took power in Congress in January, accuse the Bush administration of firing the prosecutors for political reasons, partly because Republicans viewed them as not pursuing corruption allegations against Democrats strongly enough.
They and some Republicans want Gonzales, who is close to President George W. Bush, to resign.
Goodling, 33, a counsel to Gonzales and White House liaison, said in a two-page declaration she would decline to answer any of the Senate Judiciary Committee's questions "about the firings of U.S. attorneys or related questions."
The committee chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, said he was disappointed by her decision.
"The American people are left to wonder what conduct is at the base of Ms. Goodling's concern that she may incriminate herself in connection with criminal charges if she appears before the committee under oath."
The scandal is the latest to hit the Bush administration, which is struggling with popular and congressional opposition to the Iraq war and the conviction of a senior aide to Vice President Dick Cheney for perjury.
In an interview with NBC News, Gonzales said the dismissals did not occur for political or improper reasons. "I would never have asked for their resignations to interfere with a public corruption case or in any way to interfere with an ongoing investigation," he said.
Internal Review
But just to make sure that nothing improper happened, Gonzales said he asked for an internal review by the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility and the inspector general's office.
Kyle Sampson, who resigned as chief of staff to Gonzales earlier this month as a result of the flap over the firings, has agreed to testify on Thursday before Leahy's committee.
Goodling's lawyer, John Dowd, said some Democratic members of the Senate and House judiciary committees had already reached conclusions about the firings and the truthfulness of earlier testimony by Justice Department officials.
Dowd said a senior unidentified Justice Department official had privately told Sen. Charles Schumer, a Democrat of New York, that he was not entirely candid before the panel because Goodling and others did not inform him of the pertinent facts.
He did not name the official but there have been questions about whether Goodling and others misinformed Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty about the firings just before he testified before the Senate committee in February.
Dowd cited numerous witnesses in the past who gave testimony before Congress and then faced criminal investigation and even indictment for perjury, false statements or obstruction of congressional proceedings.
"The potential for legal jeopardy for Ms. Goodling from even her most truthful and accurate testimony under these circumstances is very real," said Dowd, a well-known criminal defense attorney.
"One need look no further than the recent circumstances and proceedings involving Lewis Libby," he said, a reference to the perjury conviction of Cheney's former chief of staff in a case involving the leak of a CIA employee's name.
Dowd called the committee investigation "politically charged" and questioned its "fundamental fairness."
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said: "It is unfortunate that a public servant no longer feels comfortable that they will be treated fairly in testimony in front of Congress."
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