Pressure mounting for Alberto Gonzales to resign

April 21, 2007

Washington, D.C. - Pressure is mounting from some high-level Republicans for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign his post.

The No. 3 House Republican, GOP Conference Chairman Adam Putnam, said Friday he was disappointed with Gonzales' testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee and suggested it might be time for him to go.

"He did not distinguish himself in the hearing," House Republican Conference Chairman Adam Putnam said. "There remains a cloud over the department...I think that they would be well served by fresh leadership."

Meanwhile, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, said he thinks Gonzales ought to consider the possibility of resigning.

"I think the attorney general ought to take the weekend and think about this and ask himself whether he can effectively reconstitute the attorney general's office and I'll be thinking about the same thing," said Sessions, who serves as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "If he feels like he cannot, then it would be best for the president and the country to resign."

Sessions, a former U.S. attorney and a key ally of President Bush, defended the president's decision to fire the attorneys at the beginning of the controversy but has been less and less supportive as more information has come out about how Justice handled the matter.