Kyle Sampson, former Chief of Staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, testifed before Congress today that during a meeting with then White House Counsel Harriet Miers, he suggested that they consider firing prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, who of course was the prosecutor in the CIA Leak Case, and successful prosecuted Scooter Libby for his role in the case.

But Sampson told Congress that he wasn't really serious in suggesting the removal of Fitzgerald.  He says maybe he did it to see what kind of reaction it would get!  (Spare me!  Can this guy be any more of a joke?)

From MSNBC:

D. Kyle Sampson, the former top aide to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, said in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday that he suggested removing prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, who oversaw the CIA leak case involving White House staff, from his post.

Sampson said he made the recommendation during a White House meeting with Harriet Miers, former counsel to President Bush.

Sampson's statements on Thursday came amid controversy over U.S. attorneys who were fired without warning. His testimony for the first time put Gonzales at the heart of the firings amid ever-changing Justice Department accounts of how they were planned.

Miers and her deputy, William Kelley. "I remember on one occasion in 2006 in discussing the removal of U.S. attorneys ... and I raised Pat Fitzgerald."  Sampson said that as soon as he raised Fitzgerald at the meeting he regretted it: "I knew that it was the wrong thing to do. I knew that it was inappropriate."

Fitzgerald served as special counsel in the trial over who revealed the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame, which ended in a perjury and obstruction conviction for Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Wilson is the wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson.

When quizzed by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., how Miers and Kelly reacted to the suggestion that Fitzgerald be added to the list of U.S. attorneys slated to be fired, Sampson said, "They looked at me like I had said something totally inappropriate, and I had."

"Why did you say it?  Why did you recommend or at least suggest that he be removed as U.S. attorney?" Durbin asked.

Sampson said he wasn't sure, but he thought "it was maybe to get a reaction from them." He added that he "never seriously considered" putting Fitzgerald on a list and that Fitzgerald never appeared on any list.

CIA leak prosecutor’s job was threatened

Ex-Gonzales aide says in testimony he suggested removing Fitzgerald