Paper: Pressure Calls Came from New MexicansWell, our list of suspects just got a whole lot shorter.
Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias told McClatchy Newspapers (and The Washington Post) that two members of Congress had called him in mid-October to pressure him about an ongoing corruption investigation of a state Democrat. He refused to identify the lawmakers in any way, because he feared retaliation.
But in comments to the Albuquerque Journal, he was a whole lot more specific. He told the paper that “two members of the New Mexico delegation” had contacted him.
Now, there are only two members of the New Mexico delegation that we haven’t heard from: Rep. Heather Wilson (R) and Sen. Pete Domenici (R). And it’s not just us. The pair have ducked calls from everyone (a partial list: McClatchy, The Washington Post, the Albuquerque Journal and Albuquerque Tribune). Back in October, Wilson was fighting for her political life in one of the closest races in the country. Domenici, as the state’s sole Republican senator, is the White House’s state contact for the U.S. attorney in the state — he would have been originally responsible for Iglesias’ nomination and the nomination of his successor.
The ball is in their court. We put in another call to their offices this morning.