Matt Ortega

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and the Justice Department are under fire for the firings of eight U.S. attorneys. The decision to can the federal prosecutors appears to be politically motivated.

The front page of Friday’s Washington Post, Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania) had strong comments about Gonzales, later softening his tone. Specter is the ranking minority member on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The capitulation came just hours after several leading Senate Republicans sharply criticized Gonzales for his handling of the issue. Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.), the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, seemed to suggest that Gonzales’s tenure may not last through the remainder of President Bush’s term.

“One day there will be a new attorney general, maybe sooner rather than later,” Specter said sharply. In an interview with Reuters after the meeting with Gonzales, Specter said his comments did not imply he thought the attorney general should be replaced.

Post reporters Paul Kane and Dan Eggen gave a quick synopsis of the prosecutor purge that has created a major furor in Washington.

The firings, most of which happened Dec. 7, became a flashpoint for Democrats in part because they were accompanied by a little-noticed change in federal law in 2006 that allowed Gonzales to appoint interim federal prosecutors to indefinite terms. Under the previous system, the local federal district court would appoint a temporary replacement after 120 days until a permanent candidate was named and confirmed by the Senate.

Democrats have tried removing the provision but Senator Jon Kyl (R-Arizona), who recently won re-election last November, continues to block their efforts. President Bush would sign the bill, Gonzales assured Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) privately. However, GOP efforts to torpedo the bill in Congress could prevent it from ever reaching the president’s desk to make good on that assurance.