Subpoenas of Justice Department Officials Approved

The AP is reporting that the Senate Judiciary Committee has approved subpoena for 5 DoJ officials or former officials. The people who will be given a chance to throw themselves on their swords for Alberto Gonzales are Michael Elston, Kyle Sampson, Monica Goodling, Bill Mercer and Mike Battle. Sampson, the AG's former Chief of Staff, who with Harriet Miers, orchestrated the firings, quit the Department of Justice on Monday. Michael Elston is the Chief of Staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty. Mercer is acting associate attorney general. Gooding is officially Gonzales' senior counsel and White House liaison, has acted as a spokeswoman for the DoJ. A 1999 Regent University Law School graduate, she is rumored to have close ties to Karl Rove. Battle, who is also departing the DoJ, is the director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys.