| Embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is in Indianapolis Friday addressing law enforcement assigned to sex crimes. Gonzales' appearance comes one day after Senate Democrats called for a special prosecutor to investigate whether he committed perjury. Gonzales faces new questions about his credibility because of apparent contradictions between his sworn Senate testimony and an intelligence official's statements. As a result, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has threatened to request a perjury investigation of Gonzales. Gonzales didn't mention this latest controversy, instead, sticking to his speech to law enforcement. "My promise to this group and to the parents of America is that I'm committed. I will not rest, even after I'm no longer attorney general, until this nation is better able to shield our children from crimes," he said. Gonzales has resisted calls from members of Congress to step down as attorney general. The White House defended Gonzales on Thursday against accusations he gave misleading testimony to Congress. A key Republican senator critical of Gonzales said there was no sign that President Bush's support for the attorney general was weakening.
Sen. Arlen Specter, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, accompanied Bush on an Air Force One on a trip to Philadelphia. At a hearing on Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Republican had told Gonzales, "I do not find your testimony credible, candidly." The senator Thursday that Bush was sticking by Gonzales out of personal loyalty, despite the attorney general's deteriorating support on Capitol Hill. "The hearing two days ago was devastating (for Gonzales). But so was the hearing before that and so was the hearing before that," Specter said.
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