Gonzales Watch: Pryor Again Calls on AG to Quit

Arkansas Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor, in a face-to-face meeting with Alberto Gonzales, directly told the embattled attorney general to resign, his communications director said today.

"The trust level has been diminished greatly," Michael Teague told News Desk.

As first reported here at News Desk, Gonzales called Pryor on Monday night to arrange a meeting, four days after he promised to do so at a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee last Thursday.

Pryor has accused the attorney general of lying to him about whether Gonzales would sincerely pursue a Senate confirmation vote of a new U.S. attorney in Arkansas. Teague said that at this morning's meeting, the issue was again addressed.

Teague quoted the senator as saying of the Gonzales-Pryor meeting today: "Attorney General Gonzales's memory was hazy [about a December conversation between him and the senator], but mine was not."

In another Gonzales-related development, Monica Goodling, the Department of Justice's former liaison to the White House, was granted immunity to testify before Congress about the dismissals.

--Kent Allen