LawyersUSA

Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will not face a grand jury over his role in the firings of nine U.S. Attorneys during his tenure, according to a report released today by Department of Justice officials.

Still, according to the report by DOJ Inspector General Glenn Fine and Office of Professional Responsibility Director H. Marshall Jarrett, Gonzales "bears primary responsibility for the flawed U.S. Attorney removal process and the resulting turmoil that it created."

"This was not a simple personnel matter that should be delegated to subordinate officials – it was an unprecedented removal of a group of high-level Department officials that was certain to raise concerns if not handled properly," the report stated. "Such an undertaking warranted close supervision by the Attorney General, as well as the Deputy Attorney General [Paul J. McNulty]. Gonzales did not provide such supervision, nor did he ensure that the Deputy Attorney General provided the necessary oversight."

The report noted "significant evidence" that the motivation behind the firings of the U.S. attorneys in 2006 was political, in violation of federal law. It also stated that top Justice Department officials made misleading or contradictory statements to investigators regarding the firings.

Gonzales resigned last year amid the fallout over the firings, but has denied wrongdoing.

The 390-page report also noted evidence that the White House was aware of politically-motivated actions at the Justice Department.

"While our investigation could not fully determine the role of White House officials in the removals of the U.S. Attorneys, for at least three of the removals, the evidence indicates the White House was more involved than merely approving the removal of Presidential appointees, as Department officials initially stated," the report stated.

Later, the report said that because White House counsel Harriet Miers, former advisor Karl Rove and others "refused to cooperate with our investigation, and because the White House declined to provide internal documents to us, we were unable to determine the role the White House played in these removals."

Fine and Jarrett also recommended that the probe into the firings of the federal prosecutors continue to determine whether criminal violations occurred. "We recommend that a counsel specially appointed by the Attorney General work with us to further investigate these issues," the report said.

The report can be found here.