Alberto Gonzales gave NBC's Pete Williams an exclusive interview yesterday -- shockingly, considering he bailed early on a press conference in Chicago Tuesday to avoid any purge questions -- yet ended up directly contradicting himself about the purge.

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How do these two statements square?:

"I was not involved in the deliberations over whether or not the US attorneys should resign..."

"I know why I asked these United States attorneys to leave and it was not for improper reasons..."

So, he had nothing whatsover to do with selecting which attorneys to get rid of, yet he knows why he got rid of them? Is he trying to say that he had nothing to do with "the deliberations" -- meaning his subordinates reviewed the cases and recommended these particular eight -- then signed off on it personally based soley on their advice? Either way, this doesn't fly because the "performance-related reasons" excuse -- the only possible explanation other than deliberate poltical interference -- is bogus.

You gotta love how Brian Williams mentions at the end that his viewers can find the entire interview with transcript online.

(h/t Heather)