New details revealed about Bogden firing

WASHINGTON -- The mystery only deepens as to why the Justice Department fired Dan Bogden.

Newly disclosed interviews that congressional investigators have had with two top Justice officials add details but no big pieces to the puzzle as to why Bogden was discharged as U.S. attorney for Nevada.

Both officials had roles in the surprise dismissals of eight U.S. attorneys including Bogden, 51, who had served as the state's chief federal prosecutor since September 2001.

• Michael Battle, who at the time headed the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys, was the person given the job of calling the prosecutors with the bad news. Battle left the Justice Department on March 16.

• William Mercer, the acting third in command at the Justice Department, is a U.S. attorney himself, knew many of the prosecutors personally, and fielded calls from Bogden seeking some illumination as to why he was being let go.

The pair were interviewed separately behind closed doors by Republican and Democratic staffers on the House and Senate Judiciary committees investigating the firings.

Battle told investigators April 12 he had "no idea one way or another" how Bogden came to be singled out for dismissal, according to a senior committee aide familiar with the transcripts.

Battle, who was the liaison between Justice headquarters and U.S. attorneys in the states, further said he was not aware of performance problems in Nevada.

Mercer likewise told investigators he had no particular knowledge about performance problems involving Bogden, and he had no clear understanding of why he was fired.

The testimony adds to a mystery surrounding Bogden's firing.

So far, four top Justice officials including Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have testified under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee, or told staff investigators they had no idea why Bogden was singled out.

"This just reiterates the fact that the Department of Justice mishandled the firing of Dan Bogden," said Tory Mazzola, a spokesman for Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., who complained to Gonzales about the firing.

"We need to have a thorough understanding of why this was mishandled," Mazzola said.

As political appointees of President Bush, the U.S. attorneys could be replaced at any time.

But Democrats have said the mass purge raises questions as to whether there might have been improper political motivations at play.

H.E. "Bud" Cummins, the U.S. attorney in Little Rock, Ark., was dismissed in June, and Justice officials have acknowledged he was let go to make room for a prosecutor who once worked at the Republican National Committee and at the White House for political director Karl Rove.

Battle recounted to investigators his awkward calls to the prosecutors, which he said he tried to keep as brief as possible.

He said he tried to make small talk with Bogden before telling him he had something important to talk about. He said Bogden was quiet when he was told the administration wanted him to resign and depart by the end of January.

Battle told Bogden he was not in a position to give a detailed reason.

Bogden has said that he called Mercer after he was unable to get a satisfactory answer from Battle as to why he was being replaced.

He has said Mercer told him it was to give someone else a chance to gain experience and build a resume.

While Mercer, who was interviewed on April 11, confirmed the conversation to investigators, he said he was working from talking points and did not know if that was true.

Mercer, the acting associate attorney general, said he was unaware whether any replacements for Bogden had been identified.