Senator Threatens AG Perjury Probe

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says he will ask for a perjury inquiry into congressional testimony by Alberto Gonzales—unless the attorney general revises his statements.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said he will ask the Justice Department’s inspector general to lead the probe into Gonzales’ statements about a congressional briefing held in March 2004, the Washington Post reports.

Gonzales testified Tuesday that the briefing was about “intelligence activities” but was not about a warrantless surveillance program overseen by the National Security Agency.

Democrats believe Gonzales is downplaying the dispute over the NSA program. They say a 2006 letter by John Negroponte, who was then director of National Intelligence, appears to contradict Gonzales’ testimony on the subject of the meeting.

A Justice Department spokesman says Gonzales stands by his testimony.