US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales vowed he would not quit Monday, as he braced for another roasting from lawmakers furious over a political scandal sparked by the sacking of federal prosecutors.
Gonzales was due to appear before the US Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, in his latest bid to quell the row which erupted when opponents of President George W. Bush claimed politics played a role in the firings.
The Attorney General told the committee in prepared testimony that claims political considerations were at play in his department were troubling.
"I could walk away, or I could devote my time, effort and energy to fix the problems," Gonzales said.
"Since I have never been one to quit, I decided that the best course of action was to remain here and fix the problems. That is exactly what I am doing."
Gonzales's words appeared unlikely to quell the storm over the sackings of at least eight prosecutors. In several previous appearances before congressional panels, he has faced a volley of demands to resign.
In a related development, the House Judiciary Committee is set to meet on Wednesday to consider filing contempt of Congress charges against White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten and his former legal counsel Harriet Miers.
Miers has refused to testify about the scandal, after being told not to appear by the president, and the White House has declined to hand over documents demanded by the committee.
"I've allowed the White House and Ms. Miers every opportunity to cooperate with this investigation, either voluntarily or under subpoena," said House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers in a statement.
"It is still my hope that they will reconsider this hard-line position, and cooperate with our investigation so that we can get to the bottom of this matter."
Bush this month invoked executive privilege in a bid to block testimony by Miers and another former aide, requested by the House and Senate committees, raising the chances that the standoff will end up in court.
Executive privilege is a legal doctrine which argues the president can decline to produce documents and testimony demanded by another branch of government, if he deems it is vital that they remain confidential.
