Ex-aide to Gonzales agrees to testify

Fielding 'listened attentively'
Specter reached out to the White House on Thursday afternoon with his proposal to allow the aides to be questioned publicly by just a limited number of lawmakers without putting them under oath.

Fielding "listened attentively and said that he had no authority to negotiate, but that he would take my suggestions to the president," Specter said.

Neither Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont nor Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the Democratic chairmen of the judiciary panels, appeared in any rush to issue the subpoenas.

"I'll issue them when we're ready," Leahy said Thursday night, adding that he wants to see more documents and await the outcome of a hearing on the matter next week.

Democrats said their action gave them a bargaining chip in negotiations with Bush. The White House has said the aides would provide only limited interviews with select lawmakers behind closed doors, without a transcript and not under oath.

"We all would like them to get off their mountain and come down and negotiate," said Schumer.

He said Friday that Specter's proposal reflects a bipartisan willingness to strike a deal with the White House on the matter.

A court clash with the executive branch over subpoenas could produce months and even years of legal wrangling, possibly delaying an opportunity for lawmakers to question Bush's top aides until after he leaves office.

In letters to Fielding on Thursday, House and Senate Judiciary Democrats said they couldn't accept Bush's conditions.

"Unfortunately, these letters show they aren't as interested in ascertaining the facts than going on a political fishing expedition," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.

Gonzales: 'I'm not going to resign'
Gonzales, fighting for his job amid the furor over the fired prosecutors, promised to cooperate with Congress in the inquiry. "I'm not going to resign," he told reporters Thursday after an event in St. Louis.

Rep. Paul Gillmor, R-Ohio, said Gonzales has become a "lightning rod" for criticism and joined GOP lawmakers who want him out. "It would be better for the president and the department if the attorney general were to step down," Gillmor said.

Bush is standing by Gonzales and insists that the firings were appropriate. Democrats argue they were politically motivated.

Members of both parties want to know why the Justice Department fired eight well-regarded U.S. attorneys over the winter; whether politicians pressured the prosecutors to rush corruption cases; and whether the firings were punishment for the prosecutors' balking at Bush administration priorities.

Prosecutors are appointed to four-year terms by the president and can be dismissed by him at any time.

The Senate panel voted to approve subpoenas for Rove, former White House counsel Harriet Miers and her former deputy, William Kelley. The House authorized similar subpoenas a day earlier.

Democrats object to Bush's offer, which Fielding relayed to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, in large part because there would be no transcript and the testimony would not be public.

"I've had a lot of those unstructured briefings and found that I was given, in many instances, not the whole truth, nothing near the whole truth," Leahy said.

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