March 23 (Bloomberg) -- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was briefed on plans for the firings of federal prosecutors 11 days before the dismissals, the U.S. Justice Department disclosed as it began its own investigation into the matter.

Two Justice Department watchdog units will conduct a joint probe to determine why eight U.S. attorneys were removed and if Congress was misled by agency officials' testimony.

``The department needs a thorough and complete investigation into this matter,'' spokesman Brian Roehrkasse told reporters.

Several documents released by the Justice Department tonight, including Gonzales's appointment calendar, show that the attorney general and his deputy, Paul McNulty, participated in an hour-long meeting about the firings on Nov. 27. Another e-mail provided new evidence the White House was involved in the firings.

Seven of the eight prosecutors were let go on Dec. 7. An eighth U.S. attorney, who already had been told about his ouster, was replaced by a former aide to Karl Rove, President George W. Bush's top political adviser.

The Nov. 27 meeting, held in Gonzales's conference room, was attended by top Justice Department officials to discuss ``the plan to inform the U.S. attorneys'' of their ouster, Roehrkasse said.

Gonzales left a different impression about his knowledge of the firings during a March 13 news conference at the Justice Department after announcing the resignation of his chief of staff, Kyle Sampson.

Gonzales's Involvement

``I never saw documents. We never had a discussion about where things stood,'' Gonzales said then. ``What I knew was that there was an ongoing effort that was led by Mr. Sampson, vetted through the Department of Justice, to ascertain where we could make improvements in U.S. attorney performances around the country.''

Justice Department officials who briefed reporters tonight said they don't know if Gonzales actually approved the firings at the meeting.

The latest documents provide ``evidence of the attorney general's involvement much earlier than he previously acknowledged,'' said House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat.

Investigations on Capitol Hill into the controversy are moving forward. Sampson agreed to testify next week before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and a top Republican senator urged White House officials to negotiate with Congress over demands that presidential aides testify about the dismissals.

Sampson's Resignation

Gonzales accepted Sampson's resignation for not keeping him and other officials informed about the plans to fire the U.S. attorneys.

Another newly released e-mail indicated that the White House political affairs office was closely tracking the firings. In a Dec. 3, 2006, message, deputy political director J. Scott Jennings asked Sampson: ``Does a list of all vacant, or about-to- be vacant, U.S. attorney slots exist anywhere?''

Sampson provided the list the next day, according to another e-mail previously turned over to Congress. That memo listed ``vacancies expected shortly'' and named seven judicial districts where the soon-to-be-fired U.S. attorneys worked.

Also on Dec. 4 Deputy White House Counsel William Kelley sent an e-mail to Sampson that said, ``We're a go for the U.S. Atty plan.''

3,500 Pages

The Justice Department documents released tonight are likely to be the last of some 3,500 pages sent to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. The committees are also demanding that Rove and other White House aides testify about the firings.

Both committees voted this week to authorize subpoenas for the staffers' testimony, while Bush offered to make them available for private interviews that aren't under oath and can't be transcribed.

Arizona's Jon Kyl, the No. 3 Republican senator, said today that the two sides should ``sit down and see what they can work out.''

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, indicated in an interview on ``Political Capital with Al Hunt'' that his party sees little room for compromise. Reid predicted that Gonzales will be gone in a month, ``one way or the other.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Robert Schmidt in Washington at rschmidt5@bloomberg.net. James Rowley in Washington at jarowley@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 23, 2007 22:51 EDT