Sampson also gave new details on the firing of New Mexico U.S. Attorney David Iglesias. He said Iglesias was added to the dismissal list only after presidential adviser Karl Rove complained about his handling of voter fraud cases.

New York Senator Charles Schumer: “In the last seven weeks, we’ve learned that Attorney General Gonzales was personally involved in the firing plan, after being told that he wasn’t. We’ve learned that the White House was involved, involved, after being told that it wasn’t; we’ve learned that Karl Rove was involved, after being told that he wasn’t. And we have learned that political considerations were very important, after being told that they weren’t.”

The White House declined to offer a concerted response to Sampson’s testimony and said Gonzales would respond himself. But Gonzales won’t have to publicly comment for another three weeks when he’s slated to testify before Congress. Sampson’s testimony came a day after President Bush joked about the attorney scandal at the Radio & Television Correspondent’s Association dinner in Washington.

President Bush: “We really blew the way we let those attorneys go. You know you’ve botched it when people sympathize with lawyers.”