WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An FBI agent was warned to keep quiet about the dismissal of a U.S. attorney after he told a newspaper her firing would hurt the agency’s ongoing investigations and speculated politics was involved, a U.S. Senate panel heard on Tuesday.

FBI Director Robert Mueller defended the handling of the incident, saying: “I do not believe it’s appropriate for our special agents in charge to comment to the media on personnel decisions that are made by the Department of Justice.”

“I profoundly disagree,” replied Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, who told the panel of the warning to the agent. “He (the agent) was simply saying that it would affect cases that were ongoing. And I think he’s entitled to his opinion.”

The exchange came as Mueller’s testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is ramping up its investigation into the firing last year of eight of the nation’s 93 U.S. attorneys.

The Bush administration contends the firings were justified. The mostly Democratic critics of the dismissals question whether the prosecutors were fired for political motives.

Full article at Boston.com

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