SEATTLE (AP) - Five months after they were fired, three former U.S. attorneys told a law school audience Wednesday they still don't know why they were targeted.

And they don't expect to be illuminated when U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales begins his second round of congressional testimony Thursday.

"I just hope I don't hear the words 'I don't recall' coming from his mouth very often," said David Iglesias, former U.S. attorney in New Mexico.

Iglesias appeared on a Seattle University Law School panel with Paul Charlton, former U.S. attorney in Arizona, and John McKay, the former U.S. attorney in Western Washington, to discuss the roles and responsibilities of federal prosecutors.

The three were among eight fired last year; the Bush administration's shifting rationales for the firings, as well as the widespread perception that they may have been improperly motivated, set off a political firestorm and federal inquiries that could result in criminal charges.

The three retold the circumstances surrounding their firings. McKay noted that no one in the Justice Department will admit to selecting him or the others to be terminated, raising the possibility that it was the White House that picked the names.

"I to this day do not know who fired me or why," he said. "To my knowledge, the deputy attorney general, the associate attorney general, their chiefs of staff, Monica Goodling, Kyle Samson nor anyone else will admit to putting any one of us on the list to be fired. Now, that leaves only the white house."

They also noted that several of those fired had been pursuing public corruption investigations.

"So I maintained all along - initially without having direct evidence, having only circumstantial evidence - that I was put on the list for political reasons. And as the evidence has been borne out, that becomes truer and truer with each passing day," Iglesias said.

Charlton, who has kept a low profile during the controversy and decided to skip a post-panel news conference, said he initially believed the Justice Department fired him for policy disagreements over whether to seek the death penalty and whether the FBI should tape all confessions.

But now he wonders if the real reason was his investigation into a land-swap deal involving Republican Rep. Rick Renzi of Arizona. Because the investigation is ongoing, he declined to answer an audience member's question about whether the Justice Department resisted his efforts on that case.

Eventually, though, the answer will come out.

"There will be a chronology that people will have the opportunity to see, and when that happens we'll all know the truth about this matter," Charlton said.

McKay appeared on one list of U.S. attorneys to be fired in March 2005, when Republicans in Washington state were angrily urging him to convene a grand jury to investigate the razor-thin 2004 governor's race, won after two recounts by Democrat Chris Gregoire.

Iglesias was fired after declining requests from a Republican representative and senator to speed up an indictment targeting Democrats.

All three told the audience that the appearance of impropriety has wasted the credibility of the Justice Department, and they suggested new leadership would be needed to restore it. Iglesias said he has spoken with many U.S. attorneys and assistant U.S. attorneys around the country.

"To a person, they're sickened by this. Some are actively looking for work," he said. "Morale is terrible across the country."

McKay told the audience, which included law students, lawyers and members of the public, that he hopes the scandal does not only lead to the "corruption of ideals."

"I hope there are some lessons about integrity and the willingness to pay a price," he said.