Subpoena Day for Fired U.S. Attorneys

UPDATE: All this, plus we learn that Scooter "Liar" Libby has been found guilty of 4 out of 5 counts in the Plame leak case, including perjury and obstruction of justice. The chickens are definitely coming home to roost, aren't they? Think Progress has video clips.
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Today hearings are taking place in committees in both the U.S. House (this afternoon) and Senate (this morning) featuring the testimony of many of the fired U.S. Attorneys. Las Cruces blogger Heath Haussamen is live blogging them them with frequent updates. The Senate Judiciary Committee is first up. You can also watch on C-SPAN 3 TV or online. The four former U.S. attorneys who will testify today before Senate Judiciary are David Iglesias of New Mexico; Carol Lam, former U.S. attorney for Southern California; John McKay, former U.S. attorney for Western Washington; and H.E. “Bud” Cummins II, former U.S. attorney for Eastern Arkansas.

As reported by Haussamen, here's testimony from Iglesias prompted by Sen. Chuck Schumer at this morning's Senate Judiciary hearing:

Iglesias told the committee that Domenici and Wilson were the two who called him in October, the first time he has said so publicly.

The first call was made “on or about Oct. 16,” he said, by Wilson. He said the call was “quite brief.” He then said that the second call, “approximately two weeks later,” on Oct. 26 or Oct. 27, came from Domenici. He said Domenici Chief of Staff Steve Bell called him at home to tell him Domenici wanted to speak with him.

Bell indicated “there were some complaints by citizens,” then handed the phone to Domenici. Domenici, he said, asked about pending public corruption cases.

“He said, ‘Are these going to be filed before November?’”

Iglesias told Domenici they would not, he said. Domenici, he testified, said, “I’m very sorry to hear that,” and hung up the phone.

“I felt sick after that,” Iglesias said. “… I felt leaned on. I felt pressured to get these matters moving.”

He said it was “unprecedented” for a senator to call him at home.

As for the initial call from Wilson, Iglesias said Wilson said she had “been hearing about sealed indictments, and asked, ‘What can you tell me about sealed indictments?’”

“You cannot talk about indictments,” Iglesias testified. “… I was evasive and unresponsive.”

He said he tried to explain to her why he could not talk about the indictments.

“She was not happy… and she said, ‘Well, I guess I’ll have to take your word for it,’” and ended the call, Iglesias testified.

And in response to questions from Sen. Arlen Specter:

Specter asked Iglesias about Domenici’s and Wilson’s statements, in which they have admitted to calling but denied pressuring Iglesias.

“Is Sen. Domenici wrong?” Specter asked.

Iglesias said Domenici didn’t directly threaten him, but “the fact that he would call and ask about any specific investigation was a threatening call.”

The timing of the call was a factor in making him feel threatened, Iglesias said. Iglesias said his prosecution of the treasurer scandal had become the focus of the First Congressional District campaign.

“Public corruption was a huge battle being waged by Patricia Madrid and Heather Wilson, and I assiduously tried to stay out of that,” Iglesias said, adding that Domenici’s inquiry, because of that, was inappropriate and threatening.

Iglesias admitted that Domenici said no more than Domenici asserts – that he called to ask about the case – but “the fact that the line went dead” after that led to him feeling pressured.

In a statement released Monday night, Wilson asserted that she called Iglesias to inquire about an allegation that he was denying prosecutions in a public corruption case. She said she didn’t ask about the timing of indictments, tell him what she thought he should do or pressure him, and said the allegation was made by someone else.

Asked if Wilson said anything else during the conversation, Iglesias said Wilson never told her the allegation came from someone else. And she left out a key fact in her statement, Iglesias said.

“She wanted to talk about the ‘so-called’ sealed indictments – something I could not talk about,” Iglesias said.

Iglesias said he felt the calls were inappropriate but admitted not reporting them.

“Sen. Domenici had been a mentor to me… and Heather Wilson was a friend,” he said, adding that he felt a conflict between his loyalty to them and his duty to report what he claims happened.

Now go read the rest at Haussamen.

Think Progress has some video clips of Iglesias' testimony this morning.

More Local Blog Coverge:
Avelino Maestas over at Live From Silver City has some excellent commentary and analysis, and counters the desperate spin being applied by a couple of local Republican bloggers. As usual, Joe Monahan has the inside track on what his notorious political "alligators" are saying around the state on the case, and always has something compelling to add. We're blessed with some excellent political blogs here in the Land of Enchantment these days, so visit them often to get a good idea of what New Mexicans are thinking and saying about the important stories emerging locally.