2nd Gonzales aide quits

WASHINGTON, April 6 (UPI) -- The aide to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales who has invoked the Fifth Amendment to avoid testifying before Congress resigned Friday.

Monica Goodling is the second member of Gonzales' senior staff to quit in the scandal over the firing of eight U.S. attorneys. Goodling, a senior counselor to Gonzales, worked with Kyle Sampson, who was the attorney general's chief of staff, on deciding who to fire.

Goodling submitted a brief letter to Gonzales announcing her departure, the Washington Post reported.

Sampson and Goodling also worked together to brief Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty before his testimony to the Judiciary Committee. McNulty complained about being given inaccurate information, something cited by Goodling when she invoked her constitutional right to avoid self-incrimination.

After receiving her law degree in 1999 from Regent University, founded by evangelist Pat Robertson, Goodling joined the Justice Department under Attorney General John Ashcroft.