Ladies and Gentlemen, the Preznit of these here United States.
What Al did was -- and what the Justice Department did was appropriate. U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President. In other words, they're appointed by the President. They can be removed by the President. What was mishandled was the explanation of the cases to the Congress. And Al has got work to do up there. And the thing I appreciate about the Attorney General was, he said publicly he could have handled it better, mistakes were made, and took action. And, obviously, more action needs to be taken. That's what I discussed with him on the phone today.
aaaaaaaaaaand the henchmen...
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An e-mail from the Justice Department's Kyle Sampson in March 2005 laid out a simple formula for evaluating whether the 93 U.S. attorneys should stay or go.
On a chart given to then-White House Counsel Harriet Miers, Sampson -- chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales -- listed attorneys in three categories:
"Bold = Recommend retaining; strong U.S. attorneys who have managed well, and exhibited loyalty to the president and attorney general.
"Strikeout = Recommend removing; weak U.S. attorneys who have been ineffectual managers and prosecutors, chafed against administration initiatives, etc.
"Nothing = No recommendation; have not distinguished themselves either positively or negatively."
Spectacular handling. Let's see that "more action".