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Posted: 2:10 AM- Kyle Sampson, the former chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, said he had discussions about the firings of eight U.S. Attorneys with the attorney general, and Gonzales' contrary statements are inaccurate.

"I don't think the attorney general's statement that he wasn't involved in any U.S. Attorney removals is accurate," Sampson said.

The former Utahn said he recalled multiple discussions with the attorney general on the issue over several years.

Sampson said he did not recall if the attorney general saw documents relating to the firings.

Democratic senators said today they hoped to learn more about what led to the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys and what role Gonzales played in the decisions, as Sampson appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"Kyle Sampson was at the epicenter of all this and should know those facts better than anyone else," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

Sampson told the committee that, in his view, the firings were handled appropriately, but the response to congressional inquiries was "badly mishandled."

Because of that, he said, he let the attorney general down and chose to resign.

"This episode has been personally devastating to me and my family," Sampson said, and he hoped that by appearing before the committee he could "put this behind me and my family."

Sampson, a Cedar City native and Brigham Young graduate, led the effort to identify U.S. Attorneys who could be replaced.

He resigned as Gonzales' chief of staff on March 12. The attorney general said Sampson had failed to share details of the plan to fire the U.S. Attorneys with Justice Department officials who briefed Congress.

Sampson said Thursday he did not withhold information or mislead anybody, but resigned because he had failed to prepare a response to the political uproar.

"I failed to organize a more effective response to questions about the replacement process, but I never sought to conceal or withhold any material fact about this matter from anyone," Sampson said.

Sampson said other senior Justice Department officials were closely involved in refining the list, and the White House also reviewed it, but he did not say specifically who was in the loop.

In one intriguing piece of testimony, Sampson said Thursday that he once suggested adding the prosecutor handling an investigation into the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame to a list of U.S. Attorneys who could be fired.

Sampson said that, in a meeting with then-White House Counsel Harriet Miers and her deputy, "I said Patrick Fitzgerald could be added to this list" of U.S. Attorneys who could be replaced.

"Immediately after I did it I regretted it," Sampson said.

Sampson said he believes Fitzgerald is a strong U.S. Attorney and he had no intention to add him to the list of prosecutors who could be removed.

Fitzgerald is the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, who was chosen to investigate who leaked the identity of Valerie Plame, who worked at the CIA, to retaliate against her husband, Joe Wilson, who had challenged the Bush administration's proof that Iraq was developing nuclear weapons.

His investigation eventually led to the conviction of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.

Sampson told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that as soon as he mentioned Fitzgerald he knew it was a mistake. Miers and her deputy only stared at him, Sampson said.