Some of the new documents show the department’s acute awareness of individual United States attorney’s political and ideological views. An undated spreadsheet attached to a Feb. 12, 2007, e-mail message listed the federal prosecutors who had served under President Bush along with their past work experience.

The chart included a category for Republican Party and campaign work, showing who had been a delegate to a Republican convention or had managed a Republican political campaign. The chart had a separate category indicating who among the prosecutors was a member of the Federalist Society, a Washington-based association that serves as a talent pool for young conservatives seeking appointments in Republican administrations.

Taken together, Democrats asserted, the e-mail supported their contention that the ousted prosecutors were dismissed to make room for favored candidates who were chosen on the basis of their political qualifications as much as prosecutorial experience.

Had he just admitted it and acknowledged that the Administration wanted Republican and Bush loyalists who would support the Administration's criminal enforcement priorities to fill the position, provided they had the other qualifications, he'd be on firm ground. Instead, they are admitting this was the case only with the replacement of Arkansas U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins, who was fired to make way for Karl Rove's pal Tim Griffin.

Alberto Gonzales' representation that he values the independence of U.S. Attorneys and that the firings weren't political makes him a liar in my opinion. Independents don't get the job. And for lying about this, I think he deserves to lose his job.

Yes, once U.S. Attorneys are in office they are supposed to see that justice is done and put politics aside. But that's not what Gonzales said. He said the firing decisions were not based on political reasons. That's just hogwash.