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WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Justice Department official who was eyed as a possible replacement for one of several fired U.S. attorneys announced her resignation Friday. Rachel Brand, the assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Policy, will step down July 9, the department said in a statement. The statement did not give a reason for her departure, but Brand is expecting a baby soon. Brand was a member of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' leadership team. When officials were planning to fire U.S. attorneys in San Diego, San Francisco, Michigan and Arkansas, Brand was named as a possible replacement for...

WASHINGTON -- Two and a half hours into her testimony about U.S. attorney firings before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday, former Justice Department liaison to the White House Monica Goodling was questioned by U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn. Much of his questioning dealt with Goodling's education at the Regent University School of Law founded by television evangelist Pat Robertson. Goodling was counsel to Atty. Gen Alberto Gonzales before resigning in April. She testified after being offered immunity from prosecution for any wrongdoing she might admit. Cohen: The mission of the law school you attended, Regent, is "to bring to bear...

<p>WASHINGTON — Former Justice Department official Monica Goodling told lawmakers Wednesday she wanted to "set the record straight," blaming deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty for misleading Congress about the firing of eight U.S. attorneys.</p> <p>Goodling, speaking out in public for the first time, denied playing a major role in the dismissals in testimony before the House Judiciary Committee.</p>

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee predicted Thursday that the probe of firings of federal prosecutors would lead to the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The Justice Department, according to veteran Sen. Arlen Specter, can't properly protect the nation from terrorism or oversee President Bush's no-warrant eavesdropping program with Gonzales at the helm. "I have a sense that when we finish our investigation, we may have the conclusion of the tenure of the attorney general," Specter, R-Pa., said during a committee hearing. "I think when our investigation is concluded, it'll be clear even to...

A federal judge approved an immunity deal Friday allowing former Justice Department aide Monica Goodling to testify before Congress about the firing of eight federal prosecutors. Goodling, who served as the department's White House liaison, has refused to discuss the firings without a guarantee that she will not be prosecuted. Congress agreed to the deal, Justice Department investigators reluctantly agreed not to oppose it and U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan gave it final approval Friday. "Monica Goodling may not refuse to testify," Hogan began his brief order, which said that Goodling could not be prosecuted for anything other than perjury...