They did not give any information, however, about the possible timing of the effort.
Dan Pfeiffer, a senior adviser to the president, said the timing of the effort would also help.
Randi Weingarten, the president of the city's teachers' union, the United Federation of Teachers, denounced the timing as an effort to bully the union when contract talks have virtually broken down.
And the timing of this effort could not be worse, causing excessive confusion just as potential candidates are lining up support in the pivotal November elections.
But Stokes has the capacity to produce speed from nowhere, a function of timing rather than effort, something which may be why catches seem to be missed from him more than others.
"The timing of this effort is particularly appropriate," Mr. Bennett said, referring to the start of the investigation by the review board, which was appointed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Some lawyers who have been following the prosecutions said the timing of the effort to plead guilty was significant, coming in what may have been the last major hearing here in the Bush administration.
This may be, but the fact is that the longer they are excluded, the greater the uncertainty over the size and timing of the effort required by all other sectors of the economy.
For political analysts, the timing suggests an effort to shore up President Obama's bid for re-election by allowing him to distance himself from an unpopular governor in a state that was central to his election in 2008.
But in one of two court filings, the judge questioned the timing of the effort to force him to step down, noting that "the involvement of all of the court-appointed advisers has been a matter of record for nearly two years".
