LIMA, Peru (AP) -- The staff of a popular Peruvian TV news magazine program has resigned after fallout from an on-air confrontation between the presenter and President Alejandro Toledo over the broadcast of a video touted as supporting allegations Toledo registered his political party with fake signatures.

"We have presented our letter of resignation," Carlos Espa, anchor of America Television's "Cuarto Poder," or "Fourth Estate," told reporters late Tuesday night.

On Sunday, the program aired a video of Toledo celebrating with his wife, sister and supporters in a restaurant in the late 1990s and praising his campaign workers for the "extraordinary, demanding, conscientious work by people who transcribed, entered and rechecked" the signatures.

Toledo has repeatedly denied allegations that his sister, Margarita Toledo, oversaw the systematic forging of names to make the party eligible for the 2000 elections.

The president called Espa immediately after the video aired to complain that the program had not offered him or his staff a chance to respond before it aired the video. He said he was referring in the video to the fact that the signature lists -- now under scrutiny by state investigators -- had to be checked against electoral rolls and transcribed onto a computer disk.

In an angry exchange with Espa, who is known for his aggressive style, Toledo accused the show of gutter journalism.

"A half truth is worse than a lie. That's enough of staining people's honor," Toledo said in the exchange, which was aired minutes after it occurred. "I have nothing more to say. You are a coward!" He then hung up.

The next day, Peru's leading newspaper, El Comercio, which is part owner of America Television, ran an editorial calling Toledo's behavior "unfortunate" and the segment "insufficient."

The video "proved nothing about a possible fraud," it said. "The rest of the program was suspicious speculation primarily advanced by politicians" with axes to grind.

The program's director, Julio Aliaga, said the resignations were offered because "we felt we lost the confidence of the board of directors" of the station.

Copyright 2004 The Associated Press.