The Agora

[apple] The Justice Department began the investigation Sept. 26 but did not ask the White House to order employees to preserve relevant evidence until Sept. 29.

[apple] Gonzales did not order employees to preserve their records until the next day, when the investigation was announced.

[apple] The Justice Department did not ask the Pentagon and State Department to preserve possible evidence until late on Oct. 1, after news reports that such a request was coming.

[apple] White House press secretary Scott McClellan has said he determined that three senior officials who were the subject of speculation in news accounts were not involved in leaking classified information. The senators wrote: "Clearly, a media spokesperson does not have the legal expertise to be questioning possible suspects or evaluating or reaching conclusions about the legality of their conduct."

[apple] Ashcroft remains responsible for the probe despite his close political and personal relationships with Bush and his top aides.

And, the White House has already looked at the possibility of using executive privilege to shield some documents.

Their objections include the decision of White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales to screen documents White House employees submitted to his office in response to a Justice Department order. Gonzales set a deadline of last Tuesday for employees to turn in records that might be relevant; then his office is forwarding them to investigators.

The White House has not ruled out the possibility that Gonzales will seek to withhold documents under a claim of executive privilege.

The Justice Department and several outside Republican lawyers said they considered the procedures to be standard and prudent.

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