European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 16, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14 stars and stripes monday april 16 2007 Gonzales says he has nothing to hide by Hope yen and Lara Jakes Jordan the associated press Washington attorney general Alberto Gonzales said sunday he has done nothing improper in the firings of eight fed eral prosecutors in testimony pre pared for his appearance before a Senate panel widely viewed As a last Chance to save his Job i have nothing to hide Gonza Les said in a statement released sunday but two republicans on the Senate judiciary committee said Gonzales has an Uphill Battle in convincing the Public he can Lead the Justice department two Days before Gonzales is to make a showdown appearance be fore Congress sen Arlen spec Ter spa said none of Gonzales Public statements so far has con Vinced him that the departments ouster of eight us attorneys was justified in an oped sunday in the Washington Post Gonzales apologized for the handling of the matter including a series of misstatements about Bis exact role that he acknowledged created confusion but Gonzales maintained that nothing improper occurred those statements Are very con Elu Sory said Specter the top re publican on the Senate judiciary committee Hes got a Steep Hill to climb Hes going to be Success Ful Only if he deals with the facts sen Lindsey Graham rec another member of the judiciary committee said Gonzales has an Uphill struggle to reestablish his credibility with the committee Given prior statements still Gra Ham said he believed Gonzales could save his Job he needs to explain what he did and Why he did it Graham said there Are three our four different versions of his role in this and he needs to bring clarity to what he did and Why he did it Gonzales a former White House counsel who became attorney general in 2005 will testify tuesday before the committee in what will Likely be a make break appearance for Gonzales Specter said Gonzales must explain firing the us attorneys Case by convince Sena tors they were not done to inter Fere with or promote ongoing criminal investigations aimed at benefiting republicans if he is unable to do so Gonza Les should consider reinstating the fired prosecutors Specter said while a president has a right to replace us attorneys for no Rea son at All you cant replace them for a bad reason he said the no 1 question is is he Ca Pable of administering the department of Justice did he have enough hands on to know what s happening can he explain Why these individuals were asked to resign and justify the reasons for doing so Specter said in his testimony Gonzales claimed a hazy memory saying he recalled some discussions about at least two possible re placements for vacant us attorney jobs he also said he recalled two specific instances when he was told that the White House counsel Harriet Miers was seek ing updates of the Justice depart ments prosecutor evaluations jury selection to begin in terrorism trial for Padilla by Curt Anderson the associated press Miami nearly five years ago the attorney general John Ashcroft told the world that the United states had thwarted a frightening Al Aida plot to det Onate a radioactive dirty bomb in a major City and had arrested a known terrorist Jose Padilla speaking at a hastily arranged june 2002 news conference in Moscow Ash Croft darkly suggested the plot could have caused mass death and injury and that president Bush had designated Padilla a us citizen of puerto rican descent As an enemy combatant who would be held in in definite military custody rather than face civilian criminal charges he was involved in planning future terrorist attacks on american civilians in the United states Ashcroft said while a Jit Tery nation still reeled from the sept 11 and anthrax attacks in 2001 that started an unprecedented Odyssey for Padilla a 36yearold Muslim convert and onetime member of Chicago latin disciples Street gang a new chapter begins monday with jury selection for terror sup port charges in a Case with no mention of the dirty bomb allegations or purported plots inside the United states Padilla held for years As an enemy combatant and co defendants Adham Amin Hassoun 45 and 44yearold Kifah Wael Jayyousi face possible life in prison if convicted on charges of conspiracy to murder Kidnap and maim people Over seas and of providing support to terror groups the three have pleaded not guilty to being part of a North american support cell that funnelled fighters Money and supplies to islamic extremists fighting or Muslim holy War in Afghanistan chech nya Bosnia Tajikistan and elsewhere around the world the trial is expected to take at least four months Padilla claimed he was tortured while interrogated in the charge repeatedly denied by the Bush administration and sought unsuccessfully to have his Case dismissed for outrageous government conduct us officials also claim Padilla admitted involvement and training with Al Aida Dur ing his Brig interrogations As Well As the proposed dirty bomb plot and another plan to blow up High Rise apartment build Ings none of mat can be used As evidence because Padilla had no lawyer present and was not read his Miranda rights police arrest Man after standoff in Oklahoma Tulsa murder suspect surrendered to police follow ing a three hour standoff at an apartment Complex mat was complicated by a crowd of by standers who threw rocks at police authorities said after dispersing the crowd officers negotiated with murder suspect Rico Starks 19 for several hours before he surrendered Sun Day said officer Scott Walton Starks is charged with Sec on degree murder in the killing of 18yearold Mark Jordan who was shot aug 21 in North Tulsa report millions paid to astronauts survivors Orlando paid million to family members of the astronauts who died on the space shuttle Columbia in 2003 a newspaper reported sunday citing recently released Docu ments documents obtained by the or Lando Sentinel through a Federal Freedom of information act re quest show that former Fri director William Webster helped negotiate out court Settle ments with the families the us space Agency had never before disclosed the Settle ment to protect me privacy of the Columbia families Nasa spokes Man Allard Beutel told the associated press on sunday minutemen say Treyve spotted 700 migrants Bisbee Ariz the minute Man civil defense corps has re ported spotting More than 700 illegal immigrants crossing the a Iaan Amsico Border in the past two weeks the minutemen have been patrolling the Border since me be ginning of the month minutemen launched their third annual april Border watch Campaign in Arizona a rally in three Points on March 30 the group is conducting Simi Lar monthlong campaigns in Texas new Mexico California and Washington state Sharpton ups Security after death threats new York the Rev Ai Sharpton has stepped up his Secu Rity detail after he received threats in response to his Campaign to have radio Shock Jock Don Imus fired for making racist remarks Charli eking acting executive director of Sharp tons National action network said that one caller telephoned saturday on wham threatening to Hunt him Down and shoot him like an animal from the associated press Carrier needed for Grafe Woehr Liesheim and Vilseck for More information please Contact Tom at 01726707342 starsi0stripes your Hometown newspaper Why pry full Price Home delivery Only per week toll free 0800101 1270 Germany 0800780265 Italy 08000858827 us 080078073 Belgium 08000225203 Netherlands 0900958303 Spain Dan 3498437 email hours of operation of 07001800 Samsun 07301300 european stars and stripes attn circulation dept unit 29480 Apo a 09211