US Senators Question Attorney General's Credibility(2/2)

On NBC's Meet the Press program, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee - Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania - said Gonzales has a lot of explaining to do when he testifies before the committee next month. "We have to have an attorney general who is candid, truthful. And if we find he has not been candid and fruitful that is a very compelling reason for him not to stay on."

President Bush reaffirmed on Saturday that he stands by his attorney general, and that the White House is doing all it can to provide Congress with the information it needs to investigate the firing of the eight federal attorneys.

Democrats say they hope the president will relent " class="hjdict" word="relent " target=_blank>relent and will allow his top White House political and legal advisors to testify in public on the matter. They charge that the attorneys ultimately represent the people of the United States in the court system, and efforts to apply political pressure on prosecutions can not be tolerated.