March 14 (Bloomberg) -- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales found few defenders in Congress among fellow Republicans as Democrats escalated demands for his resignation over the firing of eight U.S. attorneys.

The controversy intensified yesterday after a thick sheaf of administration e-mails showed President George W. Bush's White House staff initiated what Democrats called ``a political purge.'' Kyle Sampson, Gonzales's chief of staff and author of many of the e-mails, quit.

The latest disclosures came just days after the Justice Department's inspector general found that the Federal Bureau of Investigation violated U.S. citizens' privacy by misusing powers Congress had given it to investigate terrorism.

Gonzales ``is facing a crisis with the Justice Department right now and we are going to find out what kind of a leader he is,'' said Republican Senator John Ensign of Nevada, who is upset that his state's top federal prosecutor was among those fired.

Republicans on Capitol Hill generally offered only muted support for Gonzales as Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada joined a growing number of lawmakers in his party to demand the attorney general's resignation. Massachusetts Democrats Edward M. Kennedy and John Kerry, the party's 2004 presidential nominee, and New York Senator Charles Schumer also called for Gonzales to step down.

`Buck Should Stop'

New York Senator Hillary Clinton, a Democratic presidential candidate, today added her name to the list in an interview on ABC's ``Good Morning America.'' ``The buck should stop somewhere,'' she said.

At a news conference in Mexico, Bush said he was ``not happy'' about the way the Justice Department carried out the firings, which he defended as ``entirely appropriate.''

``What was mishandled was the explanation of the cases to the Congress and Al's got work to do up there,'' Bush said.

The president denied that political considerations played a role, saying he never gave Gonzales ``specific instructions'' about replacing a U.S. attorney.

Kansas Senator Sam Brownback, a Republican presidential hopeful, defended Gonzales. ``The attorney general has overall done a good job'' and should remain in office, he said. By contrast, Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said her confidence in Gonzales is ``shaken'' and ``waning.''

Gonzales yesterday vowed at a news conference to keep his job and defended Bush's authority to fire the prosecutors.

Poor Performance

The Justice Department has said most of the eight were let go for poor performance, an assertion contradicted by internal evaluations of their offices turned over to Congress. The agency subsequently said some prosecutors didn't follow the administration's policy priorities.

``I've overcome a lot of obstacles in my life to become attorney general,'' Gonzales, 51, said yesterday in admitting ``mistakes'' were made in handling the terminations. ``I am here not because I give up. I am here because I've learned from my mistakes.''

Gonzales blamed Sampson for withholding information about the firings, leading him and Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty to provide inaccurate information to Congress.

Gonzales today sought to explain a statement yesterday that he ``was not involved in seeing any memos'' about the proposed firings and ``was not involved in any discussions about what was going on.''

`Sorry Excuse'

Schumer called that assertion a ``sorry excuse,'' adding that Gonzales ``shouldn't be attorney general'' if he didn't know about the discussions.

Appearing today on NBC's ``Today'' show, Gonzales said he ``had a general knowledge that there was some communication between Mr. Sampson'' and then-White House Counsel Harriet Miers. Gonzales said he directed Sampson to evaluate the U.S. attorneys and ``from time to time, he would mention'' the issue when ``he might have a conversation with Ms. Miers.''

Bush, who said he spoke with Gonzales today by telephone about the firings, told reporters: ``I do have confidence in Attorney General Al Gonzales.''

Gonzales's relationship with Bush goes back to the mid-1990s when Bush was governor of Texas and Gonzales was his general counsel and later secretary of state. Before becoming U.S. attorney general in February 2005, Gonzales served as Bush's White House counsel.

`Profound Disappointment'

Trent Lott of Mississippi, the No. 2 Senate Republican, declined to say whether Gonzales should remain in his job. ``That's the president's decision,'' he said in an interview.

Oregon Republican Gordon Smith said, ``I think I share the feeling of many Republican senators of profound disappointment'' in Gonzales.

Some Republicans accused Schumer, who heads the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, of trying to exploit the controversy for partisan political gains.

Still, Republican lawmakers said the investigation by the House and Senate Judiciary committees into the firings should continue.

Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter, the top Judiciary Committee Republican, joined Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy, the panel's chairman, in seeking to question Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, and Miers about their knowledge of the firings.

Miers first proposed asking all 93 U.S. attorneys to step down after Bush was elected to a second term in 2004. Gonzales said he rejected that suggestion.

White House Involvement

Congressional investigations will examine e-mails from Sampson that describe White House staff members' involvement in the dismissals.

In one message, dated Nov. 15, 2006, Sampson sent Miers a ``Plan for Replacing Certain United States Attorneys.'' It suggested having administration officials ``simultaneously'' call home-state senators about the ousters. The memo also warned: ``Prepare to withstand political upheaval,'' noting that fired prosecutors may make ``strenuous'' efforts to save their jobs.

``We'll stand by for a green light from you,'' Sampson wrote to Miers.

In an earlier e-mail to Miers on Jan. 9, 2006, Sampson cautioned that ``wholesale removal of U.S. attorneys would cause significant disruption'' of the Justice Department's work.

Six of the fired prosecutors testified before Congress earlier this month, some saying they were pressured by Republican lawmakers over voter fraud and public corruption investigations they were pursuing. Another said they were warned by a senior Justice Department official not to speak publicly about their firings.

U.S. attorneys are political appointees, chosen by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

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 14, 2007 13:07 EDT