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DOJ official ignored White House advice

WASHINGTON, March 27 (UPI) -- A U.S. Justice Department official ignored advice from former White House Counsel Harriet Miers when he testified before Congress, ABC News reports.

Paul McNulty, a former congressional staffer, went beyond written testimony that had been approved by the administration when he appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee, ABC said, citing sources. While Miers, in an e-mail, suggested that witnesses refuse to comment on personnel matters, McNulty talked about specific reasons for the dismissal of seven U.S. attorneys, suggesting they had been fired for good reason.

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McNulty's testimony helped turn the dismissals into a major political scandal. That was partly because the fired federal prosecutors began going public to defend their reputations.

"That's what lit the fuse," said Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. "They should've expected pushback -- not only from the U.S. attorneys but from their supporters once they characterized the reason as negative performance, inadequate performance."

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