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WASHINGTON - It was crunch time for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. His job was on the line as he appeared under the bright lights and television cameras before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

And Sen. Orrin Hatch had a burning question: "How many employees do you have at the Department of Justice?"

Not to worry. Hatch, who has been on the Senate Judiciary Committee for 30 years and counting, had a follow-up. "What are the main core functions of the Department of Justice?" he asked. "You overview the FBI?"

Maybe it's because the senator still is recovering from shoulder surgery, but for several minutes Thursday, he lobbed softballs. Not just typical softballs, but questions so wispy a gentle breeze in the committee room would have sent Hatch's inquiries drifting into the ether.

Given the panel he was facing, Gonzales was lucky to have Hatch there. The attorney general endured withering barrages, attacks on his credibility, and demands he resign from Republicans and Democrats.

Then there was Hatch: "You spend a lot of time traveling in the country as well, don't you?"

The attorney general, who was fortunately under oath, replied that he enjoys visiting the various Justice Department offices.

"You spend a lot of time down at the White House as well, don't you?" Hatch pressed on tenaciously.

"The president wants to see you, you're on call, right?" Hatch continued. "You go to intelligence meetings, right? . . . In fact, I've been in some of those intelligence meetings with you, in the secure room in the White House, right?"

Indeed, this was all true as well.

Hatch did address the topic at hand, blasting Democrats for claiming that eight U.S. Attorneys were fired for partisan political reason, despite a lack of evidence.

The Utah senator noted that Gonzales had conceded the firing of the prosecutors was poorly handled, but the attorney general is a busy man.

"If you had had more hands on, on this, maybe we wouldn't be in this position today," Hatch said. "On the other hand, with 100,000-plus employees, it's easy to see why something sometimes slips by."

But nothing was slipping by today.