By Jim Puzzanghera, Times Staff Writer 8:17 PM PDT, May 27, 2006
As Congress and the Bush administration argued publicly last week over the extraordinary raid of a congressman's office, a high-stakes dispute simmered behind the scenes -- top Justice Department officials indicated they'd resign if ordered to turn over documents seized in the search, administration officials said.
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, his deputy, Paul J. McNulty, and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III, never directly threatened to quit over the files taken from Rep. William Jefferson, D-La. But they indicated they would be unwilling to hand over the documents if requested by President Bush.
"It was framed more theoretically: if this happens, this could happen," White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said Saturday, characterizing it as "an indirect threat.
"To the best of my knowledge, nobody ever said, 'I'm going to quit,' " Snow said.
But the implication was clear: the nation's top three law enforcement officials would resign or have to be fired if directed to give up the documents
Bush diffused the potential crisis Thursday, ordering the seized material sealed for 45 days to give Congress and the Justice Department time to resolve the constitutional showdown.
The veiled resignation threats highlighted the tensions coursing through official Washington last week after more than a dozen FBI agents conducted an unprecedented raid on Jefferson's office the night of May 20. Jefferson has been accused of accepting $100,000 in cash in return for helping a Virginia businesswoman obtain contacts to provide mobile phone and Internet services in Ghana and Nigeria. The FBI said it had videotaped Jefferson receiving the money and a search of his Washington-area home turned up $90,000 wrapped in foil in his freezer.
FBI agents left Jefferson's office with more potential evidence: two boxes of documents and copied computer files.
Gonzales, McNulty and Mueller strongly believed the documents were obtained legally, said an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the case.
"They feel they have an ethical and professional responsibility to enforce the laws of our country, and because of that they wouldn't be able or willing to turn over the documents," the official said. "It's very important to recognize that we never got to the juncture when anybody would have to resign."
Showing rare unity, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., condemned the search of Jefferson's congressional office as a violation of the constitutional separation of powers. They demanded the return of the files.
Justice Department officials defended the raid as necessary because Jefferson had not responded to a subpoena. Gonzales called it "a unique step in response to a unique set of circumstances."
McNulty, who had worked 12 years as a congressional aide, was dispatched to Capitol Hill to try to resolve the dispute Tuesday afternoon, the source said. But a two-hour meeting with Hastert's chief of staff, Scott Palmer, and House general counsel Geraldine Gennet, produced no agreement as each side dug in.
White House officials weighed in Wednesday behind the scenes -- on both sides of the issue.
David S. Addington, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff and a former congressional staffer, questioned the legality of the raid, the source said. But Frances Frago Townsend, a former Justice Department official and now the president's homeland security and counterterrorism adviser, said she thought the search was legal, according to the unnamed administration official.
By Wednesday afternoon, the atmosphere was "really tense" at the Justice Department, the official said. Justice department staff let their counterparts at the White House know Wednesday night that Gonzales, McNulty and Mueller would be "unwilling" to turn over the documents and that officials should "think through" the implications of such an order, the official said.
Resignation was the implication, the official said, but it "was a pretty big hypothetical."
The White House was involved in negotiations between House and Justice Department officials and was aware of resignation suggestions, Snow said. The talk of resignation was triggered at one point by House negotiators threatening to cut the Justice Department's budget if the documents were not returned, Snow said.
"In the conversations, there was some talk that people might resign," Snow said. "I think it's safe to say there were attempts at brinkmanship on both sides."
Gonzales met with Bush on Thursday morning, but did not threaten to resign, Snow said. After the meeting, Bush announced the items seized from Jefferson's office would be sealed for 45 days.
"Our government has not faced such a dilemma in more than two centuries," Bush said in a statement. "Yet after days of discussions, it is clear these differences will require more time to be worked out."
With passions high on the issue, Snow said Bush acted to cool things down.
"He realized given what we had seen and heard both sides had their backs up," Snow said.
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