WASHINGTON - A large accounting firm released documents yesterday that it said showed that William H. Webster had fired it as the auditor of U.S. Technologies after the firm warned him about financial problems at the company. The accounting firm said the documents challenged Webster's description of his role at the company.

Webster, who has been named by the Securities and Exchange Commission to head a new board overseeing the accounting industry, has said he has no recollection of being told of any significant accounting problems before U.S. Technologies dismissed the accounting firm, BDO Seidman, in August 2001.

U.S. Technologies continued to spiral downward before Webster left the board in July, nearly a year after Seidman was dismissed. The company is now virtually insolvent. Investors have sued it for fraud, and prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation.

A few hours after the documents were released, President Bush, at a wide-ranging news conference, urged people not to rush to judge Webster. Bush said he was awaiting the outcome of an examination by the SEC of Webster's work as the chairman of the audit committee for the company.

"First let's find out what the facts are, so that everybody knows," Bush said. "And one fact is irrefutable: He's a decent man. He's served the country well. And I know he can do that job."

Webster, the 78-year-old former director of the CIA and FBI, did not return a telephone call seeking comment. He said earlier this week that he was reconsidering whether to stay on the board in light of the criticism over his selection and the controversy surrounding his work for U.S. Technologies.

Reuters quoted him as saying yesterday that he had nothing to say about the accounting board. "I've said that I would be reviewing the situation after the elections," the news service quoted him as saying. "That's still my intention."

Seidman said it released edited notes after getting permission from U.S. Technologies. The notes were made during a July 13, 2001, telephone conference of the audit committee.

Seidman sued U.S. Technologies last week for permission to disclose the material and accused Webster of making "false and misleading statements" about why it was dismissed.

Webster has said Seidman was fired for being too expensive and too slow. Seidman executives have said that the scope of their audits had to be expanded because of the company's poor record-keeping.

Webster has also said the company responded to one complaint by finding a more experienced chief financial officer but did not follow up on other Seidman concerns.

He has said he had no recollection of being informed of accounting problems at the company before Seidman's dismissal.

But the notes released yesterday listed Webster as a participant in the conference call, along with the two other members of the audit committee and three executives from Seidman, including Jeffrey P. Bland, in which the issues arose.

"Jeff discussed management letter comments and that they were material weaknesses in internal accounting controls," the notes said. They were followed by three bullet-point items:

"Need for a full-time CFO who understands the implications of these transactions so that they can be considered during the negotiation phase.

"Document retention and storage and the need for a centralized document point.

"Recording significant transactions on a timely basis."

The audit committee dismissed the firm Aug. 16, 2001.