TPMmuckraker | Talking Points Memo | Ousted Hispanic Prosecutor Was "Diverse Up-and-Comer"

Ousted Hispanic Prosecutor Was "Diverse Up-and-Comer"

By Paul Kiel - March 20, 2007, 2:11PM

In April, 2004, times were different. U.S. Attorney for New Mexico David Iglesias hadn't yet drawn the ire of prominent conservatives by failing to indict a Democratic state senator shortly before the election or declining to pursue their pet voter fraud cases.

Then, he was in no danger of being fired. Rather, he was on the short list for being promoted to be the Director of the Executive Office of the United States Attorney. At least, that's according to an email from Kyle Sampson that listed U.S. attorneys who "might be enticed to leave their districts and come to Washington to run EOUSA."

Iglesias, who is Hispanic, appears on the list as a "diverse up-and-comer; solid."

Now, Iglesias, of course, didn't get the job. Michael Battle, formerly the U.S. Attorney for Buffalo (and, as an African-American, also "diverse") did. And irony of ironies, it was Battle who ended up making the call to fire Iglesias this past December. Battle tendered his resignation in January; his last day was Friday.

Ed. Note: Thanks to TPM Reader Matt for flagging this in the comments.

Comments (20)

Mrs Panstreppon wrote on March 20, 2007 2:23 PM:

Michael Battle. The one who suddenly resigned to go into private despite the fact that he had never worked in private or expressed an interest in going into private. I wonder if Michael Battle had a job lined up in January when he resigned.

Maybe Michael Battle got fired after firing the USAs or maybe he got out for another reason.

Yellow Dog wrote on March 20, 2007 2:40 PM:

More proof that the republican party still views non-white, non-country-club-wasp-rich as disposable servants, suitable to be dressed up and shown off to the hoi polloi to prove the party's "diversity," but quickly discarded the second they stop being useful.

elrapierwit wrote on March 20, 2007 2:43 PM:

Where did Battle go?

I think Battle saw the handwriting on the wall when he had to fire the USA's and he jumped ship, quickly before the stench would be left on him.

He probably quickly deduced that he would have to answer questions about what he clearly could see was a political operation within the judicial system.

Something, he may have suspect all along, but once reaching the new level was affirmed without doubt.

For the future, these USA's who replaced the 'ousted 8' USA's should be on a list that is followed to see where they go in their careers in the judicial system, if they are nominated for judgeships, and or appointed to other meaningful jobs in the federal system.

It is more than transparent that they are GOP toadies, and Federalist society brainwashed plants in the justice system to be detonated whenever the GOP needs a political operative, covert or overt.

I bet Margaret Chiarra, is pissed today at how she has been outed for the weasel she is despite desribing herself as one of with a reputation of utmost integrity and ethical attorney. Levin and Stabenow are probably outraged.

It is unbelieveable how Rove has stacked the deck for future GOP appointments.

If this is how the game has been played all along I fervently that we get a President in the WH in '09 and majorities in the House and Senate, such that we can pull up all the Democratic operatives Bill Clinton left in the pipeline.

We have to balance the system of justice. Now we see how much of a 'whore' the lady of who represents the scales of justice has been turned into.

As lawyers say:
There is no such thing as justice, there's just us.

Observor wrote on March 20, 2007 2:45 PM:

Deborah Wong in LA also got out right before the hammer fell. Of course, she reportedly got $1.5 million from Gibson Dunn, Ted Olson's firm, which represents Jerry Lewis.

Brooklynite wrote on March 20, 2007 2:45 PM:

Why, he looks like a "diverse" Chuck Hagel!

Organic George wrote on March 20, 2007 2:57 PM:

I'm traveling all this week so I'm not much help on reviewing the docs.

However, I'm wondering if anyone is doing a time-line on these docs to see what is missing or out of sequence. You know those lying rat bastards are still holding back the incriminating correspondence.

Mrs Panstreppon wrote on March 20, 2007 3:03 PM:

In Paul's "Brainstorm" post, he linked to a document that appears to be a list of the fired USAs and a summary of why they were fired. Note there are two anonymous USAs listed whose firings were not made public. Those two anonmous fired USAs were supposed to resign on March 9 but obviously didn't.

The terms of both anonymous fired USAs ended 11/2/05 which presumably means they were appointed on or around 11/02/01. In another post here, Laurie pointed out that Patrick Fitzgerald was appointed in the first week of November 2001.

Besides Fitzgerald, the only other possibility we have come up with is Paul Perez, USA-Middle District FL.

carsick wrote on March 20, 2007 3:07 PM:

I keep waiting for Brett Tolman's name to come up. He and Kyle Sampson were dueling it out for the Utah AG job. Tolman convinced Specter's staff to insert the language and apparently won the competition.

skip wrote on March 20, 2007 3:15 PM:

I:think bush should hang,in their in say to those DEM> bring it on .

foggylady wrote on March 20, 2007 3:23 PM:

As I keep saying, they quit but don't go away. So is Battle one of the folks who simply exchanged chairs? Anyone know for sure where he is????

From the badlands of New Mexico wrote on March 20, 2007 3:24 PM:

Because I live in NM I follow the Iglesias case most closely. Local Republican operatives have been killing Iglesias since the scandal went public. They claim that they have been raising a stink about Iglesias since the 2004 election. If for a moment we suspend our willingness to disbelieve all things Republican, and accept that Iglesias was fired for "performance issues" doesn't the fact that it took the NM GOP two years to get him fired (and only after R's took a good old fashioned ass whupping in the 2006 election) prove the Democrats point that Bush & Co do not fire people for poor performance! Iglesias was expendable AFTER the election losses.

The irony in the NM case is that the R's did not suffer a significant loss in the 2006 election here in NM.

Mrs Panstreppon wrote on March 20, 2007 3:54 PM:

Oops! There is only one anonymous fired USA who I think is Margaret Chiara.

Jim wrote on March 20, 2007 5:07 PM:

Things you have to believe to be a Republican today:

#1 Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.

#2 Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.

#3 The Constitution is NOT a living document.--- Bill of rights? Amendments? What DAT?

#4 The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing UN resolutions against Iraq.

#5 A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multinational corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.

#6 Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals.

#7 The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.

$8 If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

#9 A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our longtime allies, then demand their cooperation and money.

#10 Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing health care to all Americans is socialism.

#11 HMOs and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.

#12Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.

#13 A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense.

#14 A president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.

#15 Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.

#16 The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving record is none of our business.

#17 Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness, and you need our prayers for your recovery.

#18 You support states' rights, which means Attorney General John Ashcroft can tell states what local voter initiatives they have the right to adopt.

#19 What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the '80s is irrelevant.

#20 Republican debt is better for the country than Democratic Surplus'