WASHINGTON, April 6 (UPI) -- The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to subpoena documents on the firings of eight U.S. attorneys now that the Justice Department has refused to submit them.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' relationship with the Senate has become increasingly contentious, the Washington Post reported. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., Thursday postponed Gonzales' testimony before the subcommittee overseeing his departmental budget, saying she did not want that to be a dress rehearsal for his appearance before the Judiciary Committee.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who has been demanding Gonzales' resignation for some time, said the attorney general "cannot talk about the funding and functioning of the Justice Department until he clears the air on U.S. attorneys."
Senate investigators have been allowed to read the disputed documents but not to copy them. The Justice Department has released 4,000 pages of documents, including some that contradict Gonzales' public statements about the dismissals.
Gonzales is scheduled to appear before the Judiciary Committee April 17.
