« previous | MUCK HOME | next »
Purged Prosecutor: "I Didn't Play Ball"
Wow, McClatchy drops a bomb today with their interview of U.S. Attorney for New Mexico David Iglesias.
Iglesias, whose last day on the job is today, says that two members of Congress called shortly before the 2006 election to push him on details related to his investigation of a state Democrat. Because he refused to be pressured to indict the Dem before the election, Iglesias says, he got the axe: "I believe that because I didn't play ball, so to speak, I was asked to resign." Iglesias told McClatchy that "the two members of Congress not only contacted him directly but also proceeded to try to wrest details about the case from him."
A member of Congress directly contacting a U.S. Attorney is a no-no, especially in cases as sensitive as the one at hand. " Congressional questions about ongoing cases are supposed to go through a special office within the Justice Department to avoid the appearance of impropriety," McClatchy reports. Iglesias says that he was "appalled by the inappropriateness of those contacts."
So there's a big unanswered question here: who were the two lawmakers? McClatchy reports that a spokesman for Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) said that it wasn't Bingman. McClatchy couldn't get ahold of New Mexico's other lawmakers as of press time. They are Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) (who wasn't up for reelection at the time) and Reps. Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce (R-NM).
We'll be putting calls in to them right away, and also to members of the Republican leadership in the House and Senate, and Republican committee leaders.
Comments (35)
ad wrote on February 28, 2007 1:50 PM:Any takers it was Domenici wanting to put the kaibash on Madrid against his good buddy and heir apparant Heather Wilson?
peter wrote on February 28, 2007 1:57 PM:Will you please stop using the non-word 'ahold'? You've used it several times in as many days. It might be a colloquialism in your neck of the woods but I'm willing to wager you won't find it recommended in any style manual.
Bearpaw wrote on February 28, 2007 2:35 PM:I can't get ahold of a style manual at the moment, but both Merriam-Webster and American Heritage disagree that "ahold" is a "non-word" [sic].
(According to both of those sources, there's no hyphen in "nonword".)
Richard L. Adlof wrote on February 28, 2007 2:35 PM:Why are we hearing about this now and not four months ago?
parrot wrote on February 28, 2007 2:42 PM:Why are the Dems walking on eggshells over this one?! Or are their own piccadillos too much for them to overcome? Corruption is rampant, that is for sure...an obviously so.
Citizen92 wrote on February 28, 2007 2:48 PM:Richard Adlof:
Two possibilities:
1/Iglesias didn't report it because he was being a good GOP appointee soldier and didn't want to rock the boat on a Member's indiscretion, or
2/Iglesias didn't report it because he thought that his superiors would think it was a great idea and urge him to follow through.
One way his ethics are questionable, the other way they're bulletproof, but either way he got the "Paul O'Neill treatment."
Someone needs to ask him that question.
anne wrote on February 28, 2007 3:19 PM:dictionary.com also recognizes ahold as a word. My ancient websters doesn't
LMA wrote on February 28, 2007 3:47 PM:On "Why are we hearing about this now and not four months ago?" (Richard L. Adlof):
Iglesias said yesterday, "I'm OK with being asked to move on for political reasons, I'm NOT OK with the Department of Justice wrongfully testifying under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee that I had performance issues..." See http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002632.php
The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in question was February 6; see http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearing.cfm?id=2516.
RJD wrote on February 28, 2007 3:51 PM:the DNC needs to hire Lam and Iglesia to keep our own folks clean and find the dirt on the repugnatcans.
ad wrote on February 28, 2007 3:54 PM:Not much happens in NM politically without Gov. Bill's knowledge. Anyone tried contacting his office for info?
Deb wrote on February 28, 2007 3:56 PM:Wouldn't Iglesias' phone records around the Nov. elections provide clues and aren't they a matter of public record?
global citizen wrote on February 28, 2007 6:01 PM:Is his allegation not a matter for police investigation? This strikes me instinctively as criminal more than ethical errors. Elected officials was interferring with a legal investigation for political advantage. The two members of Congress really, really need to be identified.
Democrats should move on all of this hard and fast. There are grounds at the least for the resignation of the Attorney General just between this case and the Lam case.
Al in Austex wrote on March 1, 2007 5:35 AM:Committee Chairwoman Linda Sanchez will make us all proud of her ability to get to the bottom of this corruption. Remember she beat up & beat out B-1 Bob Dorgan for that particular Congressional seat .
LP wrote on March 1, 2007 10:06 AM:Rep Sanchez knows exactly how to treat these corrupt Thugs aka the GOP ...
Standby Global Citizen this will be fun to watch !
Al in Austex
"Not much happens in NM politically without Gov. Bill's knowledge. Anyone tried contacting his office for info?"
I haven't tried, but I think this was from DC Repubs (Wilson, Domenici), who aren't exactly on the best basis with Richardson. While he is a huge figure in the NM Democratic party, there isn't much love for him in GOP quarters.
LongTom wrote on March 1, 2007 12:33 PM:The rhetorical question of why the Dems are walking on eggshells about this, why, that's just what they do. The fact that the word "Republican" is not a schoolyard epithet by now is a testament to the Dems utter political incompetence. The Republicans have committed enough political atrocities in the past 4 years to make ANYONE with an R next to her name unelectable for the next hundred years. Instead, we see the top two Repub candidates outpolling the top two Democratic candidates in Pennsylvania, a state that went for Kerry last time. Ghastly!
THAT's political malpractice. The entire national Democratic party should be purged of incompetents like Edwards, Reid, Shrum, etc. I don't even know where to begin with this. But a no bullshit approach that Obama seems to be employing looks like a start.
harry@gmail.com wrote on April 30, 2007 5:37 AM:Generic Cialis. Buy Generic Cialis
harry@gmail.com wrote on April 30, 2007 5:38 AM:Generic Cialis. Buy Generic Cialis
richard@gmail.com wrote on April 30, 2007 7:56 PM:hello
monyka@gmail.com wrote on May 1, 2007 8:19 AM:hello
monyka@gmail.com wrote on May 1, 2007 8:19 AM:hello
monyka@gmail.com wrote on May 1, 2007 8:19 AM:hello
poll@gmail.com wrote on May 6, 2007 8:32 PM:hello
Sincere Hatton wrote on May 21, 2007 7:19 AM:Veteran actor William Franklyn, known for voicing the 1960s Schweppes TV adverts, dies aged 81...
Matthew Swenson wrote on May 22, 2007 2:42 PM:Pioneering screenwriter Nigel Kneale, best known for the Quatermass TV serials and films, dies aged 84.
Zack Lowery wrote on May 22, 2007 4:46 PM:Microsoft and Peter Jackson postpone the making of a film based on the Halo video game after backers pull out.
porn videos wrote on June 11, 2007 11:15 AM:porn videos
porn dvds wrote on June 11, 2007 12:13 PM:porn dvds
cmop aoywdpkfm wrote on June 13, 2007 8:25 AM:hisjmanz ipnkamzse jsovfil rvtpek ozac jorapv cqfhpue
cmop aoywdpkfm wrote on June 13, 2007 8:26 AM:hisjmanz ipnkamzse jsovfil rvtpek ozac jorapv cqfhpue
sex movies wrote on June 15, 2007 4:45 PM:sex movies
naked webcam wrote on June 18, 2007 11:36 AM:naked webcam
nude webcam girl wrote on June 18, 2007 12:38 PM:m girl
free web cam girls wrote on June 18, 2007 1:51 PM:free web cam girls
naked sex games wrote on June 18, 2007 2:17 PM:naked sex games
webcam girls stripping wrote on June 19, 2007 4:07 PM:webcam girls stripping