Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI director Robert S. Mueller III said this week that they were prepared to quit if the White House directed them to relinquish evidence seized in a disputed search of a House member’s office, The New York Times reported Saturday.
Citing government officials, the Times reported that Gonzalez was joined in raising the possibility of resignation by the deputy attorney general, Paul McNulty, who told associates that they had an obligation to protect evidence in a criminal case and would not be willing to follow a White House order to return the material to Congress.
McNulty, the newspaper said, was instrumental in the resignation threats.
Bush Thursday ordered the evidence sealed for 45 days to give Congress and Justice a chance to work out a deal, averting a showdown.
The FBI seized evidence last Saturday from the office of Rep. William Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat. House leaders objected, saying they had violated the Constitution, and demanded that Justice return the evidence.
Former associates have said Jefferson accepted more than $400,000 in bribes to help them sell telecommunications technology to Nigeria and other West African countries.
Two of those associates have pleaded guilty to bribery charges, and the FBI disclosed Sunday it has videotaped Jefferson accepting bribe money and has found $90,000 in cash in his freezer.