90 seconds called key

WASHINGTON -- Daniel Bogden's fate as chief federal prosecutor in Nevada ultimately came down to a 90-second meeting convened shortly before Justice Department officials decided to dismiss him as U.S. attorney in December.

A former high level department executive has told congressional investigators that a Justice Department team held a last-minute discussion after Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty said in an e-mail on Dec. 5 that he was "skittish" about firing Bogden.

McNulty; his chief of staff, Keith Elston; Monica Goodling, a senior counsel to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales; and possibly one other official gathered in the office of Kyle Sampson, Gonzales' chief of staff.

McNulty said he was concerned about Bogden, 50, getting a job outside government after 16 years at Justice and being able to care for his family.

When it was pointed out that Bogden was not married, McNulty withdrew his concern and the conversation ended after about 90 seconds, according to the account gathered by investigators. Bogden was dismissed on Dec. 7.

The account emerged from interviews that staffers from House and Senate judiciary committees conducted on Sunday with Sampson, who resigned as Gonzales' chief of staff on March 12 amid a growing controversy over the firing of Bogden and seven other U.S. attorneys.

Sampson told investigators that neither he nor Gonzales consulted Bogden's job evaluation nor checked with local law enforcement about his performance before he was dismissed.

There were no major concerns about Bogden as a manager or whether he had failed assignments, investigators were told. There was a general feeling among senior staffers at the Justice Department that a "stronger leader" could be put in Nevada.

Under questioning, Sampson could not say how that conclusion was reached or who in the first place put Bogden on the list of U.S. attorneys to be fired, according to senior committee aides familiar with the interview.

Investigators were told Bogden was "a relatively close case" but so far have been unable to pinpoint his dismissal further.

"The overarching theme is that there was not a lot of thought given to this guy," said a senior aide.

No names have publicly surfaced as prospective replacements for Bogden, whose responsibilities were assumed on a temporary basis by his chief deputy after Bogden vacated the office on Feb. 28.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., who had nominated Bogden and has been critical of his dismissal, said through a spokesman that the investigation so far confirms that Bogden "was let go for the wrong reasons." A 2003 Justice Department performance review that has been made public gave Bogden positive grades.

"If this sheds light on anything, it is that Dan Bogden was given a raw deal," said Jon Summers, a spokesman for Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. "Over the course of 90 seconds, they determined the fate of this man's professional future. Senator Reid is looking forward to learning more."

Sampson testified several weeks ago before the Senate Judiciary Committee. He has described himself as the keeper of the dismissal list and an "aggregator" of information about U.S. attorneys as the Bush administration considered turnover after the president was elected to a second term in 2004.

According to information provided in the weekend interview, Sampson did not log complaints about Bogden and did not keep a file on the Nevadan.

Sampson recalled hearing a complaint that Bogden had not worked closely with a Justice Department anti-obscenity task force. But he told investigators he could not remember whether that was on his mind as Bogden's dismissal was being finalized.

The House and Senate judiciary committees have been investigating the Dec. 7 firing of Bogden and U.S. attorneys from Phoenix, Albuquerque,. Seattle, San Diego, San Francisco and Grand Rapids, Mich. The firing of the U.S. attorney from Little Rock Ark., who was dismissed in June, also is being examined.

Democrats have charged the firings were politically motivated and might have been tied to complaints by Republicans that the prosecutors either were moving too fast or not fast enough on corruption investigations.

Gonzales has acknowledged the firings were poorly handled but that they were proper. Supporters of the Bush administration say political appointees should be able to be dismissed for any reason or for no reason.