Utah- The Justice Department inspector general faulted Utah native Kyle Sampson on Monday for orchestrating the improper firing of nine U.S. attorneys, criticizing the process as haphazard and arbitrary.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey appointed a special investigator to determine whether criminal charges against those involved might be warranted.

Sampson, a native of Cedar City and graduate of Brigham Young University, was chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales when the dismissal of the U.S. attorneys took place. Democrats alleged that it was a politically motivated purge of prosecutors who were not loyal enough to the White House.

The inspector general “concluded that Sampson bears significant responsibility for the flawed and arbitrary removal process.”

It also faulted Sampson, Gonzales and other top Justice Department officials for “failing to provide accurate and truthful statements about the removals and their role in the process.”

Sampson’s attorney, Bradford Berenson, said his client has “behaved with honor and dignity throughout this difficult episode.”

“It is mystifying and disappointing that the inspector general chose to impugn Mr. Sampson’s candor and integrity,” he said, when Sampson was virtually the only participant who cooperated fully.

Sampson resigned from the Justice Department soon after the firings blew up into a major controversy. He now practices health care law for a major Washington, D.C., law firm.

Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine and Office of Professional Responsibility Director Marshall Jarrett said that a prosecutor was needed because “serious allegations involving potential criminal conduct have not been fully investigated or resolved.”

Potential crimes described in their report include lying to investigators, obstruction of justice and wire fraud. Mukasey named Nora Dannehy, a career prosecutor, to direct the probe.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., warned President Bush against issuing a pardon to anyone involved, saying the American people would view it as “an admission of wrongdoing.”

The report said investigators were stymied by the refusal of several key parties, including New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici, former White House adviser Karl Rove, former White House counsel Harriet Miers, and others to cooperate.

Gonzales “abdicated” his leadership role, leaving it to Sampson to formulate the plan to fire the prosecutors and identify which prosecutors should go, the inspector general said, and suggested Sampson’s comments to Congress and others were misleading.

The report also documents how Utah’s former U.S. attorney, Brent Ward, who now heads a Justice Department obscenity task force, complained repeatedly to Sampson about a lack of support from Paul Bogden, the U.S. attorney in Nevada.

In September 2006, Ward met with Sampson and said Bogden was dragging his feet on an Internet obscenity case. Bogden told the inspector general the case was “small potatoes,” and the videos were not egregious.

Shortly after the meeting between Ward and Sampson, Bogden’s name was added to the list of those to be replaced.

Sampson told investigators he couldn’t recall why Bogden’s name was added to the list, but the report said the complaints were likely the primary reason, and called Sampson’s “lack of recall particularly suspect.”

Another prosecutor who Ward had complained about, Paul Charlton, of Arizona, was also terminated, but likely for other reasons, the report said.