Justice Department report on firings of federal prosecutors provides ample justification for an extended investigation

After bumping up against a wall of silence from key participants in the controversial dismissal of nine U.S. attorneys three years ago, Department of Justice internal investigators have called for an extension of the probe under the supervision of a prosecutor appointed by Attorney General Michael Mukasey.

Mukasey was quick to respond. He named Acting District of Connecticut U.S. Attorney Nora Dannehy, a 17-year Justice Department veteran with extensive experience in public corruption prosecutions, to "pursue this case wherever the facts and the law require."

According to Mukasey, while the administration had the right to remove presidential appointees for virtually any reason or no reason at all, it had the responsibility to those who served the country "to treat their careers and reputations with appropriate care and dignity. And the leaders of the department owed it to the American people they served to conduct the public's business in a deliberate and professional manner. The department failed on both scores."

While the nearly 400-page report did not point to specific illegal acts, it made clear that department officials had made misleading statements to the public and Congress about the reasons for the dismissals. At least one of the fired U.S. attorneys, David Iglesias of New Mexico, was forced out because of pressure from Republican elected officials and activists. They were angry that Iglesias had not pursued voter fraud cases against Democrats, even though he had formed a task force that found few violations.

According to the report, "because of complaints by political officials who had a political interest in the outcome of these voter fraud and public corruption cases, the department removed Iglesias, an individual who had previously been viewed as a strong U.S. attorney." It noted that top Justice Department officials made no effort to find out if the partisan complaints against Iglesias were justified.

The report specifically criticized then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and deputy Paul McNulty for abdicating their responsibility to oversee the dismissal process "to ensure that the reasons for removal were supportable and not improper." Investigators described the removals as "unprecedented" and certain "to raise concerns if not properly handled."

As the authors admit, there are gaps in the narrative of the report because former White House officials, including Karl Rove, Harriet Miers and William Kelley, refused to cooperate. The White House also refused to provide internal documents relating to the dismissals.

This is an all too familiar scenario during the past eight years, as the Bush administration has repeatedly invoked executive privilege to shield staff and withhold evidence from legitimate inquiries by Congress and even appointed watchdogs in its own departments.

We hope Mukasey keeps his stated commitment to support an aggressive investigation and, if necessary, use the power of grand jury subpoenas to force witnesses to cooperate and to secure documentary evidence.

As the latest report documents, the handling of the dismissal of the prosecutors severely damaged the credibility of the Justice Department and raised doubts about the integrity of its law enforcement decisions. Only by getting to the bottom of this shameful episode can that damage be repaired and those doubts dispelled.