Democrats in both chambers of Congress are on the case of the fired U.S. Attorneys as well as ethical breaches within the Justice Department. According to Robert Novak:

House Democrats, led by Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel, are targeting Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and the Justice Department under him in a wide-ranging congressional investigation. The point of the Democratic attack is dismissal of seven U.S. attorneys, all involved in probes of public corruption. On Thursday, Emanuel sent Gonzales his second letter demanding the appointment of Carol Lam, fired as U.S. attorney in San Diego, as an outside counsel to continue her pursuit of the Duke Cunningham case.

Whether or not it's wide-ranging or an attack (thanks, Novak), the House and Senate Judiciary Committees have been aggressively pursuing the case. Rep. Emanuel began the charge a few weeks ago, demanding that Gonzales reappoint Carol Lam, who led the Duke Cunningham investigation while U.S. Attorney in California.

"To remove the cloud of politics over Ms. Lam’s dismissal, and to ensure there are no delays in the investigation of the Cunningham matter, I call on you to immediately name Carol Lam as outside counsel with all necessary resources to continue her excellent work on the Cunningham case and related matters," Emanuel wrote.

Having received no response from Gonzales to that request, Committee Chair Conyers, along with Reps. Berman, Emanuel, and Sanchez followed up with a second letter, this time requesting further information as to why Lam was dismissed, and oh, by the way, what about the other six?

Carol Lam's indictments of Foggo and Wilkes underscore the importance of last week's request and the need for an explanation of why these diligent public servants were dismissed. It is vital that U.S. Attorneys be able to prosecute wrongdoing free from political pressure. We are pleased that the Department of Justice has also agreed to brief members of the House Judiciary Committee on the dismissals of Carol Lam and other U.S. Attorneys. We look forward to further details regarding the date for that briefing and your response regarding the request to appoint Carol Lam as an outside counsel to finish the Cunningham and related investigations.

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and their staff did receive a briefing from Justice on the issue, and came away unimpressed. At issue for the Senators was the dismissal of H.E. Cummins in Arkansas at the apparent behest of the White House.

Ms. Miers, the aides said, phoned an aide to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales suggesting the appointment of J. Timothy Griffin, a former military and civilian prosecutor who was a political director for the Republican National Committee and a deputy to Karl Rove, the White House political adviser. Later, the incumbent United States attorney, H. E. Cummins III, was removed without explanation and replaced on an interim basis by Mr. Griffin. Officials at the White House and Justice Department declined to comment on Ms. Miers’s role in the matter. Paul J. McNulty, the deputy attorney general, said at a hearing last week that Mr. Cummins had done nothing wrong but was removed to make room for Mr. Griffin. It was not known at the time Mr. McNulty testified that Ms. Miers had intervened on Mr. Griffin’s behalf.

Senators Schumer and Feinstein both expressed dissatisfaction with the briefing and the lack of answers they received. Feinstein also took up the case of Carol Lam on the Senate floor last week. It's likely that the Senate Judiciary Committee will follow the House's lead, and begin inquiries of their own.

Finally, there's also the case of Sue Ellen Wooldridge:

Last March, Sue Ellen Wooldridge, then the head of the Justice Department's environmental division, bought a $1 million vacation home with Don R. Duncan, the top lobbyist for oil company ConocoPhillips. Nine months later, Ms. Wooldridge signed off on a settlement agreement that let ConocoPhillips delay the installation of pollution-control equipment and the payment of fines. Just to make matters cozier, the third owner of the beach house is J. Steven Griles, the former No. 2 official at the Interior Department who's now the target of a Justice Department criminal investigation into his dealings with lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Oh, and Ms. Wooldridge, who lives with Mr. Griles, once worked with him at Interior, where she gave Mr. Griles ethics advice and defended his actions during an inspector general investigation.

Both Conyers and Waxman have opened investigations on this issue.

This is the Justice Department Gonzales built. It's the kind of ethical mess you might expect to see with a real estate lawyer, known more for a dogged loyalty to the man who made his career than to any dedication to the rule of law, serving as the nation's chief law enforcement officer. These investigations are likely to provide more than enough fodder for Congress to consider hearings into Gonzales's fitness to serve as the U.S. Attorney General, as if his views on habeas corpus weren't enough. I'm with John Dean.

In the history of U.S. Attorney Generals, Alberto Gonzales is constantly reaching for new lows. So dubious is his testimony that he is not afforded the courtesy given most cabinet officers when appearing on Capitol Hill: Congress insists he testify under oath. Even under oath, Gonzales's purported understanding of the Constitution is historically and legally inaccurate, far beyond the bounds of partisan interpretation.

Dean says he should resign. I say he should be impeached.