Democracy for New Mexico

Iglesias Today (in the Land of Grumbling Mountain Lions)

Today's Washington Post has a lengthy personal profile of fired U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, what he's been through and what he's doing today, based on a reporter's visit to Albuquerque to interview Iglesias and his wife, Cyndy in their foothills home. The article traces his life to this point, goes into his many recent media appearances and recaps the details of the U.S. Attorneys' scandal, but what tickled me was this opening paragraph's description of Albuquerque:

At 9 a.m. on the very edge of the dusty, desolate collection of adobe homes and Vietnamese restaurants that seem to form this city, David Iglesias begins his run through the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. This is not easy terrain. The footing is terribly uneven. The altitude can be unbearable. At certain times one can hear the grumbling of mountain lions and the feasting of coyotes.

I don't know about you, but I've never personally been aware of any mountain lion grumbling in our "desolate" locale packed with Vietnamese restaurants....

Barnett and Rogers Implicated (Again) in Rove's Plan to Keep Minorities Off Voter Rolls

Facts be damned. No matter how much evidence undermines the validity of the Republican "voter fraud" claims, they keep on insisting there's a "there" there. And they keep sticking to their odd view that, for some strange reason, certain Republican U.S. Attorneys -- many of whom have since been fired by BushCo -- didn't want to prosecute "voter fraud" even though evidence was supposedly abundant. It's never really been explained why any U.S. Attorney would avoid issuing headline-grabbing indictments if the cases could be made.

The truth is that BushCo wanted these prosecutions in battleground states despite there being no real evidence of crimes -- and they were dedicated to applying political pressure to get them even if they weren't justified. Politics is politics and political gain often seems to be the only goal of Rove et al. What's a little destruction of the integrity and ethics of the U.S. Justice Department when Congressional seats are at stake? One of the top priorities of Rove's strategy for the last few election cycles was to disenfranchise minority voters and discourage them from registering to vote. After all, minority voters tend to vote for Democrats. Creating the "voter fraud" myth and launching headline-making investigations were a big part of Rove's plan, and pressure was applied liberally to U.S. Attorneys who were reluctant to play ball.

Wa-Po Piece Debunks "Voter Fraud"
In a Washington Post op-ed this week, Harold Meyerson debunks the long-running Repub "voter fraud" myth in no uncertain terms. Quote:

... five of the 12 federal prosecutors either sacked or considered for sacking last year had been singled out by Rove and other administration officials for nonperformance on voter fraud. Amazingly, all five came from states -- Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington and Wisconsin -- where Republicans were embroiled in tight election contests.

With the home office in Washington breathing down their necks, why did these experienced prosecutors fail to bring voter fraud indictments? The crime, after all, had become a major Justice Department concern. Starting in 2002, Justice required every U.S. attorney to designate a district election officer, whose job it would be to end this epidemic of electoral fraud. These officers' attendance was required at annual training seminars, where they were taught how to investigate, prosecute and convict fraudulent voters. The statutes were adequate; the investigators were primed, well funded and raring to go.

And nothing happened. For the simple reason that when it comes to voter fraud in America, there's no there there. Voter fraud is a myth -- not an urban or rural myth, as such, but a Republican one. [emphasis mine]

...  to prosecute or convict more than a handful of people for voter fraud isn't for lack of trying. Since 2002, the Justice Department's Ballot Access and Voting Integrity Initiative has, as Gonzales put it, "made enforcement of election fraud and corruption offenses a top priority." And yet between October 2002 and September 2005, just 38 cases were brought nationally, and of those, 14 ended in dismissals or acquittals, 11 in guilty pleas, and 13 in convictions.

... And thus, as has so often been the case in the Bush presidency, a government department was instructed to negate its raison d'etre. Just as consumer protection and environmental protection agencies were transformed into agencies protecting manufacturers and despoilers, so Justice -- whose imperishable glory was its role in extending the franchise to African Americans during the civil rights years -- was told that its new mission was to suppress the franchise.

Rogers and Barnett Work the Rove Strategy
Now evidence is mounting that local Repub political operatives Pat Rogers (right) and Mickey Barnett (below left) were, in essence, part of an organized effort in New Mexico to pressure Iglesias to help carry out Rove's strategy.

Barnett was once a legislative aid to Sen. Domenici and was his pick for a slot on the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors. A former NM Senator, Barnett has also lobbied on behalf of the payday loan industry, Corrections Corporation of Amerca and gambling interests. Albuquerque attorney Patrick Rogers served on the board of the American Center for Voting Rights Legislative Fund, which has ties to The Donatelli group involved in the Swiftboat plot during the 2004 election. He testified about "voter fraud" and the need for voter ID at a U.S House Administration Committee hearing organized by fromer Repub Rep. Bob Ney, who later was jailed for crimes connected with the Abramoff scandal.

In a major story in yesterday's LA Times, David Iglesias describes a politicized lunch where Rogers once again applied the pressure:

Weeks before the 2006 midterm election, then-New Mexico U.S. Atty. David C. Iglesias was invited to dine with a well-connected Republican lawyer in Albuquerque who had been after him for years to prosecute allegations of voter fraud.

"I had a bad feeling about that lunch," said Iglesias, describing his meeting at Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen with Patrick Rogers, a lawyer who provided occasional counsel to the New Mexico Republican Party.

When the voter fraud issue came up, Iglesias said, he explained to Rogers that in reviewing more than 100 complaints, he hadn't found any solid enough to justify criminal charges.

... Rogers, Iglesias recalled, had pressed him in 2004 and then again just before the 2006 election to push for voter fraud convictions in the state. Iglesias said he was so concerned about the propriety of the preelection get-together with Rogers that he asked a colleague from the office to join him as a witness.

Sour Grapes When Iglesias Won't Cooperate
As it became more and more clear that Iglesias wouldn't go along with the "voter fraud" charade, complaints by Rogers, Barnett and Sen. Pete Domenici bombarded the Justice Department and White House, urging that Iglesias be replaced. The plot thickens and "all roads lead to Rove."

Unbeknownst to Iglesias, a few months before that lunch, Rogers and another Republican attorney from New Mexico, Mickey Barnett, had complained about Iglesias at the Justice Department in Washington. The session was arranged with the assistance of the department's then-White House liaison, Monica M. Goodling, and an aide to White House political strategist Karl Rove, according to e-mails released recently by congressional investigators.

One of those they met with was Matthew Friedrich, a senior counselor to Gonzales. Friedrich would meet again with Rogers and Barnett in New Mexico, where, he told congressional investigators, the pair complained about Iglesias. They made it clear "that they did not want him to be the U.S. attorney…. They mentioned that they had communicated that with Sen. Domenici, and they also mentioned Karl Rove," Friedrich said, according to a transcript provided by congressional investigators.

... Iglesias has said that he believes "all roads lead to Rove" in explaining the dismissals and that he is counting on the Office of Special Counsel to find the truth.

Obstruction of Justice?
Another fired U.S. Attorney says the political pressure could merit a criminal investigation:

This week, another fired U.S. attorney who has said he felt pressure on voter fraud cases, John McKay of Seattle, said he thought interference with Iglesias and other prosecutors amounted to "possible obstruction of justice." He predicted that a criminal inquiry would be launched. He said he felt pressure to bring voter fraud charges in his district after a 129-vote margin put a Democratic governor into office in Washington.

Remember that both Sen. Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson made phone calls to Iglesias in the run-up to the 2006 election that he perceived to be intimidating. Clearly, a message was being sent to Iglesias and other recalcitrant U.S. Attorneys that they must proceed with politically motivated indictments and investigations about "voter fraud" and other matters or face the wrath of the DOJ and Rove. Those who didn't respond were put on the to-be-fired list.

Domenici Pushes Rogers to Replace Iglesias
A final "irony": Pat Rogers was one of the names reportedly submitted by Domenici as a suggested replacement for Iglesias. I guess Rogers did such a good job keeping the pressure on Iglesias that Domenici believed he deserved a reward, like any good flunky.

Jeff Armijo Pleads Not Guilty to Four Count Indictment

It was revealed yesterday that a grand jury indicted former Dem state auditor candidate Jeff Armijo in mid-March for one felony count of false imprisonment and three misdemeanor battery counts in connection with accusations of sexual misconduct from August, 2006. He was booked into the Bernalillo County Detention Center on April 10 and released on his own recognizance. He's pleaded not guilty on all counts. Armijo was forced to resign as a candidate last Fall when allegations that resulted in the current indictment became public. Hector Balderas replaced him on the ballot and was successful in his election for state auditor. Heath Haussamen has the most complete story. There are also stories in the Albuquerque Tribune and Albuquerque Journal and Santa Fe New Mexican.

It's only fair to remember that being indicted doesn't mean a person is guilty. Innocence is presumed unless and until that person is convicted in a court of law. What the indictment does mean is that Armijo will have his day in court, one way or the other, unless the District Attorney throws the case out.

For more background on this controversial story, here are some of our previous posts on the situation:

• Jeff Armijo Withdraws as Auditor Candidate, 8/30/06
• Jeff Armijo Press Conference Set for 4:45 Today, 9/5/06
• Armijo Announces He'll Stay in Race: Others Say He's Already Off the Ballot, 9/5/06
• Latest on Armijo Ballot Battle, 9/6/06
• Hector Balderas Continuing His Run for State Auditor, 9/6/06
• Armijo to File Suit Today to Stay on Ballot, Cancel SCC Meeting, 9/8/06
• State Dem Party and Jeff Armijo File Suits in Ballot Battle, 9/9/06

Iglesias Points to Rove, Special Counsel Responds

Once again, all roads lead to Rove (who also doesn't believe in global warming and hates it when Sheryl Crowe touches him). This L.A. Times article reports that the Office of the Special Counsel will be investigating Rove and other elements of the Bush administration's political operation in the White House:

... the Office of Special Counsel is preparing to jump into one of the most sensitive and potentially explosive issues in Washington, launching a broad investigation into key elements of the White House political operations that for more than six years have been headed by chief strategist Karl Rove.

The new investigation, which will examine the firing of at least one U.S. attorney, missing White House e-mails, and White House efforts to keep presidential appointees attuned to Republican political priorities, could create a substantial new problem for the Bush White House.

... The question of improper political influence over government decision-making is at the heart of the controversy over the firing of U.S. attorneys and the ongoing congressional investigation of the special e-mail system installed in the White House and other government offices by the Republican National Committee.

... [Scott J.] Bloch [head of the Office of the Special Counsel] said the new investigation grew from two narrower inquiries his staff had begun in recent weeks. One involved the fired U.S. attorney from New Mexico, David C. Iglesias. The other centered on a PowerPoint presentation that a Rove aide, J. Scott Jennings, made at the General Services Administration this year. [emphasis mine]

Responding to Alberto Gonzales' testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, David Iglesias has pointed a finger directly at Rove, accusing him of being behind the firings. From McClatchy Newspapers:

Gonzales' testimony Thursday left senators convinced he wasn't behind the plan or its execution and in fact knew far less than a department head should have about the details. Former and current members of Gonzales' staff who've been interviewed by congressional investigators also have said their roles were limited or nonexistent.  Absent another explanation, the signs point to the White House and, at least in some degree, to the president's political adviser, Karl Rove.

David Iglesias, the former New Mexico U.S. attorney and one of the eight fired last year, said investigating the White House's role is the logical next step - one that would follow existing clues about Rove's involvement.

"If I were Congress, I would say, `If the attorney general doesn't have answers, then who would?' There's enough evidence to indicate that Karl Rove was involved up to his eyeballs."

Iglesias said another clue that the White House may have been the driving force is the relative lack of Justice Department documentation for the firings in the 6,000 pages of documents turned over to Congress.

"If you want to justify getting rid of someone, you should have at least some paper trail," Iglesias said. "There's been a remarkable absence of that. I'm wondering if the paper trail is at the White House."

Yup, if Gonzales and his staffers don't know (or won't say) how the list was created, who does that leave as the culprit in selecting the U.S. attorneys that needed firing? You don't think Bush came up with it on his own, do you? Political decisions based on political considerations (virtually all decisions in the Bush administration) would naturally be made by the main political operative in the White House -- Karl Rove. No wonder The Decider doesn't want Rove to testify under oath. And no wonder Rove "lost" all those emails. Can it get any more obvious?

At last, it looks like a wide-ranging and cohesive investigation will look into the possible illegalities committed by political operative Rove and his inside-the-White-House campaign office. Let's hope Scott Bloch is true to his word on how deep and comprehensive his probe will be. Don't hold your breath, though. Bloch may be another Gonzales, ready to cover for his bosses, according to this.

Number Of White House Officials Allowed To Intervene In DoJ Cases Jumps By 10,325 Percent

Think Progress has video and a transcript of an amazing exchange between Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Gonzales from yesterday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Go see. Talk about compare and contrast ...

Many Protesting NBC's Release of Virginia Tech Killer's "Manifesto"

Reports are coming in that NBC News is being deluged by emails and phone calls complaining about their decision to broadcast and rebroadcast (and rebroadcast) the "manifesto" mailed to them by the murderer of 32 at Virginia Tech. NBC mailboxes are full and phone lines down due to the high volume of complaints. However, we just received a tip that NBC News can still be reached at this number, 201-583-5222, if you'd like to express your opinion on the document and video release. You can also directly contact local NBC affiliate KOB-TV News at 764-2470.

Viewers are outraged that the news organization seems to be playing into the hands of the killer by ensuring widespread dissemination of his distorted and hateful point of view, as well as his carefully crafted images. Imagine what the families and friends of the victims must be feeling. Clearly, NBC had a choice in what they aired, and they made it without much regard to the havoc (and potential copycat behavior) such broadcasts might create.

Gonzales Squirms

You can listen to the Senate Judiciary hearing with AG Alberto Gonzales on NPR radio or watch it on C-SPAN 3 TV (which will probably repeat it tonight). These sources also have coverage on their websites. In fact, C-SPAN.org already has a download available of this morning's session. Here's their special page devoted to the attorney firings, which contains numerous links to news, documents and videos. Here's the NPR.org website.

I watched an early portion of today's Gonzales hearing and my first reaction was that he isn't smirking much anymore. You know the infamous smirk. It usually appears when Gonzales is being coy with the facts. This morning, however, the smirk was much more rare, replaced with grimacing, sweating, fumbling, mumbling, knocking into the microphone and squirming in his seat as he got grilled on his involvement in the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys. In the part I watched, Sen. Arlen Specter was the roughest on Alberto -- breaking in repeatedly to contest what Gonzales was saying and pressuring him to answer the questions. He also stated that Alberto's opening testimony continued “a pattern of not being candid.”

Gonzales' fall back line appears to be, "I can't recall," and he's using it often. He's also claiming that his involvement with evaluating and criticizing some of those fired was somehow separate from "the process" used to decide which attorneys to can that was led by his Deputy, Kyle Sampson. Gonzales says his criticisms were merely part of his usual job of supervising the attorneys. Right. Talk about desperate compartmentalizing.

According to a report on NPR.org:

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' claim that he had only a limited role in the firing of eight U.S. attorneys was challenged repeatedly Thursday by Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee. In a highly contentious hearing, Gonzales insisted that the firings were proper and not part of a political effort to interfere with ongoing prosecutions.

But lawmakers from both parties appeared incredulous at Gonzales' failure to recall numerous meetings and discussions that led up to the firings, and his insistence that he relied on subordinates at the Justice Department in coming up with the list of who should be fired.

As to the firing of David Iglesias:

Gonzales also acknowledged that he had had a conversation with White House political adviser Karl Rove and President Bush about complaints that former U.S. attorney David Iglesias was not pursuing voter fraud cases more aggressively in New Mexico. But Gonzales said he did not know how and when Iglesias' name was added to the list of those recommended for firing, although he said he was not "surprised" to see the name there.

Good for the Goose But Not for the Gander?
Another bone of contention? Gonzales claims that U.S. Attorney Carol Lam of San Diego was fired in part because she wasn't getting enough illegal immigration convictions in her border state, and that she was devoting too much time to white collar crime. At the same time, Iglesias reportedly was shut down on his request to hire more attorneys to conduct illegal immigration cases because the Justice Department wanted him to concentrate on white collar crime.

Does that mean that New Mexico isn't considered a border state with numerous illegal immigration problems, just like Southern California? Or just that Bush's Justice Department was interested in pursuing white collar crime only if those indicted were primarily Democrats, as was the case with Iglesias and the courthouse indictments? Remember, it was Carol Lam who prosecuted the outrageous corruption of Repub Rep. Duke Cunningham. She was fired, it just so happens, when the corruption case widened to include subpoenas of other powerful Republicans. Iglesias, on the other hand, was berated for not going fast enough on indictments that primarily targeted Democrats. It's been widely reported that indictments of Democrats have heavily outnumbered indictments of Republicans in recent years. Reeks of politics to me.

The NPR.org site also has links to selected audio clips of the testimony today.

NM House Up All Night, Passes All But One Bill

Members of the New Mexico House stayed up all night in a seven-hour marathon on the House Floor to pass all but one of the bills Gov. Richardson included in his proclamation calling the Special Session. Thank you and congratulations to our Dem Representatives for sticking to business! We know it wasn't any fun with Rep. Dan Foley and other Repubs reportedly interrupting the floor action, interjecting insults and introducing motions to adjourn. Luckily, they couldn't make any headway in the face of Dem unity.

The only bill left for the House to pass would limit campaign contributions. A long debate focused on whether the limits should apply to PACs as well as individual donors. This morning, House Speaker Ben Lujan called a recess, subject to the call of the chair to reconvene at any time. It's not known if they will meet again later today to try and pass the remaining campaign finance bill.

The bills are now headed to the Senate, which is adjourned in protest, but must reconvene on Saturday according to legislative rules. Various Senators are threatening to call another adjournment on Saturday, which would give them another three days before they meet again, but only if the House stays in session. Again, let's hope for the sake of New Mexicans that the balking Senators come to their senses, abandon their rebellion against the Governor and vote on the bills quickly. We get the point, Senators. You're displeased that Gov. Richardson called the Special Session so soon after a grueling regular session and then left the state for campaign events. Now could we please move on to the business of the Senate?

Here are links to the bills passed by the House in the Special Session, along with vote tallies:

HB 1, Feed Bill: Passed 47-13

HB 2, Severance Tax Bond Transporation Projects (GRIP II): Passed 42-16

HB 3, Clandestine Drug Lab Act: Passed 55-0

HB 4, Domestic Partnership Rights and Responsbilities: Passed 30-23

HB 5, Domestic Violence Penalties and Treatment: Passed 56-0

HB 6, Public Financing of Statewide Campaigns: Passed 35-21

HB 8, State Ethics Commission Act: Passed 38-16

Not yet passed by House in Special Session:

HB 7, Campaign Reporting Requirements: Passed House Judiciary Committee 8-0

More coverage available at the Santa Fe New Mexican and Heath Haussamen.

Hey Heather, Tell the Truth

This radio ad put together by the DCCC will run for five days in New Mexico. It confronts Rep. Heather Wilson (R, NM-1) on what fired U.S. Attorney David Iglesias has testified under oath was a pressuring phone call regarding an ongoing, alleged New Mexico corruption case:

Wilson has repeated said that the call was entirely "appropriate." I guess that depends on the kind of standards of conduct you apply to making that judgment. Anyone applying common sense and a conscience would probably come to a different conclusion.

Fortunately, as far as we know, it's still a relatively rare occurence when a powerful politician feels justified in directly confronting a U.S. Attorney on a potentially explosive, politically important, active investigation, and doing so right before a close election -- in fact -- the caller's own election. Then again, most politicians haven't felt shielded from the consequences of such an action by an administration and Justice Department that's been dangerously politicized by the President's right-hand political operative, Karl Rove.

Here's the text version of the ad:

“Testified” – 60 second Radio

October, 2006
A phone call is made … a scandal begins.

According to testimony from the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, Congresswoman Heather Wilson called U.S. Attorney David Iglesias and pressured him concerning a federal corruption investigation.

Listen to U.S. Attorney Igelsias’ testimony before the Committee…

“I received a call from Heather Wilson.” “She said ‘what can you tell me about sealed indictments.’ The second she said any questions about sealed indictments, red flags went up in my head, because as you know, we cannot talk about indictments until they’re made public, in general, we specifically cannot talk about a sealed indictment.”

Serious questions remain about Heather Wilson and violation of Congressional ethics rules.

It’s time for Heather Wilson to release her phone records and come clean.

It’s time for Heather Wilson to tell the full truth.

Announcer: Paid for by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, www.dccc.org. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is responsible for the content of this advertising.

Iglesias: Why I Was Fired

Fired U.S. Attorney David Iglesias makes his case in a New York Times op-ed. After reviewing the documents released by the Justice Department, he concludes the evidence is clear that he was fired not for job performance issues, but for political reasons. Iglesias ends by saying, "only a written retraction by the Justice Department setting the record straight regarding my performance would settle the issue for me." Excerpts:

United States attorneys have a long history of being insulated from politics. Although we receive our appointments through the political process (I am a Republican who was recommended by Senator Pete Domenici), we are expected to be apolitical once we are in office. I will never forget John Ashcroft, then the attorney general, telling me during the summer of 2001 that politics should play no role during my tenure. I took that message to heart. Little did I know that I could be fired for not being political.

Politics entered my life with two phone calls that I received last fall, just before the November election. One came from Representative Heather Wilson and the other from Senator Domenici, both Republicans from my state, New Mexico.

As for the continued yammering by Bush-Rove-Gonzales apologists that Iglesias was incompetent or worse in "refusing" to issue indictments for alleged "voter fraud" crimes in New Mexico, he says:

As this story has unfolded these last few weeks, much has been made of my decision to not prosecute alleged voter fraud in New Mexico. Without the benefit of reviewing evidence gleaned from F.B.I. investigative reports, party officials in my state have said that I should have begun a prosecution. What the critics, who don’t have any experience as prosecutors, have asserted is reprehensible — namely that I should have proceeded without having proof beyond a reasonable doubt. The public has a right to believe that prosecution decisions are made on legal, not political, grounds.

... After reviewing more than 100 complaints of voter fraud, I felt there was one possible case that should be prosecuted federally. I worked with the F.B.I. and the Justice Department’s public integrity section. As much as I wanted to prosecute the case, I could not overcome evidentiary problems. The Justice Department and the F.B.I. did not disagree with my decision in the end not to prosecute.