Paul Kiel June 27, 2007, 2:58 PM

From the AP:

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales met with federal prosecutors here Wednesday, where he caused an uproar by firing U.S. Attorney John McKay last December.

He also met with relatives of longtime Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Wales, who was shot to death at his Seattle home in October 2001. The murder remains unsolved, and Gonzales’ now-former chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, suggested in a congressional interview that the reason McKay was targeted for firing might have been that he was too aggressive in asking for additional resources to investigate the crime.

“Bringing those involved in his killing to justice is of the utmost importance to the (Justice) Department,” Gonzales said in a statement issued Wednesday morning. “Together, we will work as long and hard as it takes to solve this crime and prosecute those responsible.”

Gonzales has testified that he was not aware of DOJ officials using the Wales case as a reason to fire McKay, whose former office remains recused from the investigation. McKay has suggested that Sampson made up that explanation to disguise what might have been the real reason for McKay’s firing: His decision not to bring election fraud charges in the extremely close 2004 governor’s election in Washington state, won by Democrat Chris Gregoire after two recounts.

Alberto Gonzales, U.S. Attorneys