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Iglesias: "I Feel One Hundred Percent Vindicated"
David Iglesias has reacted with a combination of satisfaction and indignation to this week's release of documents on the U.S. attorney firings.
"I feel 100 percent vindicated," Iglesias, the former U.S. attorney for New Mexico, whose dismissal was the most controversial of the bunch, told TPMmuckraker in an interview.
And he went right after Karl Rove, who, the documents show, personally pressed for Iglesias's firing. "Despite his protestations, including some very recent protestations, he was directly involved," said Iglesias of Rove.
"Conduit, schmonduit," he added, referring to Rove's claim that he merely passed on concerns from New Mexico Republicans. Iglesias accused Rove of telling "absolute falsehoods."
Igleisas laid out the evidence of Rove's involvement. "There were emails detailing the fact that he was agitated with me, that's how Miers describes him," Iglesias said. "He was meeting with folks like Allen Weh and Pat Rogers and the rest of the New Mexico crew," he added, referring to two leaders of the state GOP. "He wanted to get the New Mexico U.S. attorney out. He didn't name me, but who was the New Mexico U.S. attorney at the time?"
The former Navy JAG, who in the 1980s was a member of the legal team that was the inspiration for the the movie A Few Good Men, noted that he had long believed that President Bush's top adviser played a major role in his firing. "When I stated a couple years ago that all the roads lead to Rove, I meant it," Iglesias said. "But I didn't know how long it would take to get the evidence."
As for the news, reported yesterday by TPMmuckraker, that Rove's office longed to replaced the ousted prosecutor with Pat Rogers, the New Mexico Republican activist who had helped get him fired, Iglesias was bemused. "Rogers would have done their bidding," he said. "I'm sure he would have filed frivolous prosecutions, and then he would have got in trouble. But for something very different."
Iglesias, ever the by-the-book prosecutor, refused to be drawn out on whether there was evidence of a crime. "Whether or not this amounts to obstruction of justice, or perjury, that's Nora Dannehy's call," he said, referring to the special prosecutor appointed by the Justice Department to look into the matter. "I would not dare second guess her in the way that a bunch of New Mexico Republicans tried to second guess me, without reviewing the evidence."
Iglesias, who's now a prosecutor in the military commissions system, called the recent news that another of the fired U.S. attorneys, Daniel Bogden, has been renominated to his old job, "poetic justice." But he demurred when asked if he could envision the same thing happening in his case. "I'm not really sure that would be a good move for me to go back," he said, adding that he hadn't been approached about the matter by anyone from the Obama administration.
For now, he said, he's thankful that Congress stuck to the task of probing the episode, despite some epic foot-dragging by the Bush White House. "I'm so grateful to [House Judiciary committee chair John] Conyers and his staff for being persevering and getting to the bottom of it," he said.
Josh
Zachary
(FYI - Just deserts with one s not two. As in deserving, not a pastry.) The attorney firings issue would have never gotten the attention it deserved without TPM. Congratulations.
August 13, 2009 10:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
You got to the deserts before me.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/just_deserts
But i agree with the second part of your post as well. Kudos to TPM on this.
August 13, 2009 11:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
Well, even if nothing else [e.g. indictments and prosecutions] comes out of this, at least, it has been proven beyond any reasonable doubt that Karl Rove was the official driving force behind the USA scandal, whether he "recalls" it or not.
And that nothing remotely resembling this could have seen the light with the White House "under GOP management". To quote Obama: "Elections have consequences". I see this as one positive consequence of the Nov/08 election.
August 13, 2009 11:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
Come on, don't forget that Al Capone wasn't convicted of murder but of tax evasion. There must be some previously-denied statement/confirmation in all this Rovian filth that gives rise to felony charges. Did he make some statement under oath when obtaining a government-issued Blackberry, now shown to have been false? Or maybe it's actually a crime to lie so blatantly when you're in a position of public trust, maybe? Don't let go of this treasure trove of ammunition. Karl Rove should spend years in prison for many things he did during his years aiding Bush, and however he gets put there is OK by me. The country deserves better than to let Rove's "false denials + stonewall disclosure strategy" to result in treatment of these revelations as "old news".
August 13, 2009 11:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
The best part of the US Attorney firings scandal was when Rove left the White House.
Suddenly President Knucklehead had nothing witty to say. All the fun went out of being president.
Thenceforth there was no more "wisecrack of the day" - the daily effort to rile people up with acid sophistry.
August 13, 2009 11:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
Karl never really left though.
Just after he "retired" he was traveling in Sweden and claimed that he and Bush talked 'every other day' and frequently had lunch together.
Hardly cold turkey.
Here's the interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZuvXnppA6o&feature=channel_page
August 13, 2009 12:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Huge congratulations to Josh and Zach and TPM for connecting the dots in this story.
I still think Obama should have appointed Iglesias as Attorney General. He has proven countless times that he favors justice over politics--including Military Politics.
August 13, 2009 12:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
With out a doubt this never would have happened without TPM
Now lets take back America
Choose the side of truth!
Buy the way truth isn't a political party
When you hear the phrases
1. It's just business
2. That's just what politicians say to get elected.
Why should anyone that is paying for everything you the tax payer have to expect anything but the truth.
If someone sells you a car and it only runs for One day don't you sue?
Why should you have to listen to anything short of the truth.
When Bill Clinton looked right in the camera and lied to America.
We took it??
When Bush and Gang lied 142+ time about Weapons of mass destruction, and used that as a reason to bomb civilians(collateral damage) and start a war.
We took it??
When Obama so eloquently said lets look forward.
1.So does that mean if your 15yr old daughter is assaulted and gets pregnant.
2.Your neighbor break into your house steals your grandmothers jewelry.
3.When a drunk driver hits a family car head on kill 5 people.
We should look past there mistakes and move forward.
In my opinion you will look past all of the above the the main steam media says it ok
August 13, 2009 12:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
I smell a Pulitzer. Nice work guys!
August 13, 2009 2:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
AP got a hold of these documents and said he was directly involved.
So Fox news asks him if this is true, he says no, so Fox news calls AP liars.
That is absurd... why do we just ask criminal if they are guilty instead of having trials... im sure they all tell the truth.
You can see the whole exchange here:
http://www.newsy.com/videos/karl_rove_s_attorney_connection
August 13, 2009 3:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
If you bind old Harriet over, she'll squeal like Rove did when he was substituted for the pig scene in the movie "Deliverance" some thirty years ago...you didn't think Ned Beaty was going to really humiliate himself in that movie, did you?
August 13, 2009 3:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
I wonder if Rove impeached himself when he was disposed?
August 13, 2009 4:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Considering how sweet it is turning the screws on that wicked man Rove, I would think that a sweet pastry as in "just desserts" would be as good a description as any.
August 15, 2009 11:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
http://www.josieg6.wordpress.com
There was a note in my file from the British Gov, that the Chicago District Director of USCIS had a 'special interest' in effecting my deportation....
About a year earlier,
One of my attornies, Geoff Brown, Chicago, told me that if I filed a Writ of Mandemus, he was sure it would solve the problem with finally getting my greencard issued, he said he used to date the District Attorney Sheila McNulty while they were in college.....the mandemus was denied, I found out, he didnt let me know, the time to file an appeal was nearly up at that point, so I called Ms. McNulty directly and left her a message asking what was the next step> what should I do, I have been in Chicago 20 years and am still married to my husband...
She apparently contacted Geoff and was very angry that I had called her directly and he swallowed my money and then he said I was fired as a client...another bit of uselessness from an Immigration Attorney.
I now wonder if this is the McNulty that requested that I be deported 'special' - as there is a political McNulty in the dialog above.
I hope they all fall into a hole in the ground for the sheer damage they did to my life. No wonder people hate lawyers.
August 16, 2009 12:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
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August 17, 2009 3:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
now lets find out more in the case of Carol Lam, U.S. attorney in San Diego who was also part of the purge.
August 19, 2009 1:24 PM | Reply | Permalink