Congressional Democrats called on Sunday for US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to be fired, on the heels of revelations that the FBI had abused its power to obtain US citizens' personal information and other problems that have emerged or worsened on Gonzales' watch.
In addition, a key Republican voiced concerns about Gonzales and his embattled Justice Department, but stopped short of calling for his resignation.
"I think we need a change in the top at the Justice Department," said Senator Charles Schumer, who led the charge.
He cited a report last week that the FBI had misused its power under the Patriot Act as another egregious misstep by Gonzales, who when he was White House counsel argued that war-on-terror detainees should not be afforded all the protections of the Geneva Conventions.
"The Justice Department must be above politics. Attorney General Gonzales is a nice man, but he doesn't understand he's no longer the president's lawyer," Schumer told CBS's Face the Nation.
He issued a statement afterward saying: "From the mishandling of the US attorney firings to the now-documented abuses of the Patriot Act to wiretapping without a warrant to decimating the Civil Rights Division, there has been a continuing pattern of mismanagement and disrespect for the rule of law."
"For the sake of the nation, I'm asking Attorney General Gonzales to step down, Schumer said.
Senator Joseph Biden, a Democrat and a 2008 White House contender, said, "I think we'd be better off if he did [resign], but that's a judgment the president is going to have to make."
Senator Arlen Specter, senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee, also said it was a matter for US President George W. Bush to decide, but added, "I do think there have been lots of problems."
The three made their comments after the recent disclosure of the firings of eight federal prosecutors and a report last week that found the FBI, which is part of the Justice Department, abused its power in snooping on US citizens under the anti-terror USA Patriot Act.
The White House stood by Gonzales, who was Bush's counsel before moving to the Justice Department in February 2005.
"As you heard from the president yesterday, he has confidence in the attorney general," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, with Bush in Bogota, Colombia.
But Biden said on CNN's Late Edition, "I think Gonzales has lost the confidence of the vast majority of the American people."
Specter told CBS more facts need to be known before any conclusions are reached about the fired prosecutors, all Bush appointees. But at a Senate meeting last week , he said, "one day there will be a new attorney general, maybe sooner rather than later."
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