Just in: Senate postpones April 12th Gonzales testimony

This just came in from AP:

Democrats delay Gonzales testimony
By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated
Press Writer
Fri Apr 6, 8:12 AM ET

Senate Democrats postponed on Thursday Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' first chance to testify in his own defense over the firings of eight federal prosecutors.

The decision to shelve next week's Senate Appropriations hearing frustrated the White House, which wants Gonzales to quickly give lawmakers his side of the story amid calls for his resignation.

But Sen. Barbara Mikulski (news, bio, voting record), D-Md, said the political firestorm should be resolved before Gonzales talks about the Justice Department's spending plan for next year.

"It would be very difficult in this environment to give the department's budget request the attention it deserves until the Senate has examined the department's leadership failures," said Mikulski, who heads the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that had planned to hear from Gonzales on April 12.

The delay means Gonzales won't appear publicly on Capitol Hill until April 17 — which even Republicans are calling a "make or break" performance — to testify at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing into the firings.

White House spokesman Tony Fratto called the delay disappointing. Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said it was regrettable.

"The attorney general has said that he would testify in hearings regarding Department of Justice appropriations, U.S. attorneys, or other issues of interest to the Senate whenever they could be scheduled," Fratto said.

We'll just have to wait til April 17th. And I am sure there will be more happening between now and then. The continuing saga!