From Associated Press:

Sampson then drew up an elaborate five-step plan to replace the targeted prosecutors with as little political fallout as possible, which he sent in a Nov. 15, 2006, e-mail to Miers, deputy White House counsel William K. Kelley and McNulty. "We'll stand by for a green light from you," Sampson wrote to Miers and Kelley. Upon getting their approval, Sampson wrote, he asked that they "circulate it to Karl's shop" — which officials confirmed was a reference to Karl Rove, Bush's top political adviser and deputy chief of staff. White House approval came a month later. "We're a go for the US Atty plan," Kelley wrote in a Dec. 4, 2006, e-mail to Sampson and Miers. "WH leg, political, communications have signed off and acknowledged that we have to be committed to following through once the pressure comes."

Again, this is really, really simple. The whole White House gave the go-ahead on a plan to use provisions of the anti-terrorism Patriot Act to circumvent the authority of Congress in confirming replacements for U.S. Attorneys the White House was forcing out. It was purely, rawly political -- they did it because they could, and they did it because it meant that their new appointees -- some of them deeply controversial -- wouldn't have to go through the confirmation process. Didn't have a damn thing to do with terrorism.

First they planned it. Then they did it.

Oh, and here's Gonzales lying through his teeth about it in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee:

[O]n Jan. 18, Gonzales stated, “I think I would never, ever make a change in a United States attorney for political reasons or if it would in any way jeopardize an ongoing serious investigation. I just would not do it.”

Well, considering that he did do it, that's now been proven false. Rather obscenely so, in fact. So what happens now?