AG Refutes Account of Hospital Visit

Alberto Gonzales today refuted an ex-colleague's dramatic testimony about a 2004 visit to John Ashcroft's hospital bed, but the Senate Judiciary Committee wasn't buying it. Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter were openly skeptical of the AG's account of the scene in John Ashcroft's room, and Specter raised the possibility of appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the US attorney firings.

Ashcroft's then-deputy, James Comey, told the panel in May that he considered the hospital visit "an attempt take advantage of a very sick man" in an effort to gain approval of an initiative widely believed to be the warrantless wiretapping program. Gonzales today reiterated his insistence that he has no plans to step down.