WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Embattled U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales faced a new firestorm on Tuesday sparked by a report he may have misled lawmakers in 2005 about civil liberty violations by the FBI.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales at the Department of Justice is pictured in this file photo dated June 5, 2007. Gonzales faced a new firestorm on Tuesday sparked by a report he may have misled lawmakers in 2005 about civil liberty violations by the FBI. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, responded by promising that Gonzales would face tough questions about this and other matters at a hearing planned by his panel later this month.

And Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat who chairs a House Judiciary subcommittee, renewed calls for Gonzales to resign and called for the appointment of a special prosecutor to determine if he had misled Congress, “a serious crime.”

But President George W. Bush brushed off the flap about his longtime friend, who earlier served as White House counsel.

“The president has said repeatedly that he has great faith in the attorney general, and that has not changed,” said White House spokesman Scott Stanzel.

The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that Gonzales assured Congress in 2005 that the FBI had not abused powers granted under the anti-terror USA Patriot Act despite having received reports of potential violations.

Brian Roehrkasse, a spokesman for Gonzales, told reporters he did not know whether the attorney general had read the reports sent to the president’s Intelligence Oversight Board.

But Roehrkasse and other Justice Department officials denied that Gonzales had given misleading testimony. “Just because the FBI makes a referral to (the board) does not necessarily mean somebody’s civil liberties has been abused,” Roehrkasse said.

Gonzales has drawn fire from Congress on a number of fronts, from the administration’s treatment of detainees to its warrantless domestic spying program to his controversial firing last year of nine top federal prosecutors.

“This should be the last straw, but there never seems to be a last straw when it comes to George W. Bush and Alberto Gonzales,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat.

With Bush’s support, Gonzales has fended off bipartisan calls to resign. He has promised to remain chief U.S. law enforcement officer as long as he believes he is effective and the president backs him.