A Justice Department investigation has recommended former attorney general Alberto Gonzales not be referred to a federal grand jury for his role in the 2006 firings of nine US attorneys. But the New York Times reports the probe offers a blistering critique of the political motivations that led to the firings. The report is expected to produce evidence that Gonzales’s chief of staff Kyle Sampson was carrying out directives crafted by more senior officials, including Gonzales, White House adviser Karl Rove, and former White House counsel Harriet Miers.