AG questioned sharply about Mercer's jobs

[maddezmom]

~snip~

"The chief judge out there (in Montana) has been very, very critical of the way that office is run, the fact that he's gone," Leahy told Gonzales. "How many days a year does Mr. Mer-cer stay here serving as your acting associate attorney general, rather than the job he was confirmed for?"

When Gonzales answered that he would have to get back to Leahy about that, the two sparred.

"Well, do you have any general idea?" Leahy pressed. "I mean, is it like a week a year? Is it several months a year?"

Gonzales again said he would have to get back to Leahy, prompting him to respond, "He's your associate attorney general. I mean, you would certainly know whether it's a week a year or several months a year, wouldn't you?"

Gonzales said he would like to give Leahy the information but that "every case is different with respect to serving in dual-hat capacities." Gonzales noted that Patrick Fitzgerald served as special counsel in the Valerie Plame investigation while he also served as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

more:http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/04/20/news/state/20-mercer.txt