White House approved U.S. Attorney firings

WASHINGTON, March 3 (UPI) -- Seven U.S. attorneys fired last year were identified by the Justice Department for not carrying out White House policies, the Washington Post reported.

The White House approved the unusual mid-term firings of the prosecutors, who were singled for alleged lax support of President Bush's policies such as immigration and firearms, the Post said.

Justice Department officials previously claimed the federal prosecutors were let go because of performance issues, the Post reported.

"At the end of the day, this was a decision to pick the prosecutors we felt would most effectively carry out the department's policies and priorities in the last two years," Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said.

The list of fired prosecutors was based on complaints from Justice Department lawyers, law enforcement officials and members of Congress, the Post said.