WASHINGTON, Aug 27: The Attorney General of the United States, Alberto Gonzales, resigned on Monday under pressure after months of controversy and political turmoil that President George W. Bush angrily blamed on his administration’s critics in Congress.

President Bush, who doggedly supported Gonzales during repeated confrontations with the Democratic-controlled Congress, said Gonzales had endured “months of unfair treatment that has created a harmful distraction at the Justice Department.”

“It’s sad that we live in a time when a talented and honourable person like Alberto Gonzales is impeded from doing important work because his good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons,” Bush said in Texas.

Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress had demanded Gonzales’ resignation over the sacking of federal prosecutors last year, which critics said were politically motivated. He faced a possible perjury investigation for testimony before Congress, where lawmakers complained that his leadership had rendered the Justice Department dysfunctional.

—Reuters