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Thursday, March 29, 2007
Sampson reveals he once suggested firing Patrick Fitzgerald but dropped it


Fitzgerald lead the investigation into the CIA leak matter.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Attorney General's former chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, told the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday that he once suggested U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald be put on a list of those prosecutors who would be asked to resign but immediately dropped the idea.

"On one occasion, in 2006, in discussing the removal of U.S. attorneys, or the process of considering some U.S. Attorneys that might be asked to resign, that I was speaking with Harriet Miers and Bill Kelley, and I raised Pat Fitzgerald. And immediately after I did it, I regretted it. I thought-- I knew that it was the wrong thing to do. I knew that it was inappropriate," Sampson said, in response to a question from Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

During that time Fitzgerald was not only a U.S. Attorney but was the Special Counsel investigating whether any senior White House officials broke the law in connection with the leak of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame. Miers was White House Counsel and Kelley was her deputy.

"I remember at the time that Ms. Miers and Bill Kelley said nothing. They just looked at me. And I immediately regretted it, and I withdrew it at the time, and I regret it now," Sampson said.

When asked by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, whether White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove had anything to do with his suggestion to fire Fitzgerald, Sampson said, "I don't remember anything like that. I don't think so." When pressed, he said, "I don't remember ever speaking to Karl Rove about anything related to Patrick."

Sampson also said that in a preliminary list of U.S. Attorneys whose terms were ending that he sent to the White House, he did not rank Fitzgerald.

"I knew that Mr. Fitzgerald was handling a very sensitive case and really didn't want to rate him one way or the other," Sampson said.

-- CNN's Kevin Bohn

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