US Attonery General Alberto Gonzales won a two-day reprieve Monday as US lawmakers put off his testimony in a scandal over purged prosecutors as the nation mourned a campus massacre.
"We ... all understand it is appropriate to postpone attorney general Gonzales' appearance before the committee until Thursday in light of the tragic events," committee chairman Senator Patrick Leahy said.
The US was left reeling Monday after 33 people, including a gunman, died in in shootings at Virginia Tech University, in the bloodiest school shooting in the nation's history.
The beleaguered Gonzales had been due to to testify Tuesday about his role in a raging scandal over the sacking of eight federal prosecutors, amid allegations the firings were a political purge by the White House.
The embattled top US prosecutor, who was to appear at a hearing of a congressional committee reviewing his possible role in the firings, has said he has "nothing to hide" in the probe.
