Democracy for New Mexico

Domenici Hires Duke Cunningham's Attorney for Ethics Scandal

So reports a Washington Post article:

Lee Blalack, who recently represented former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.), who is now serving time in prison for bribery and other offenses, said today that he has signed on as Domenici's attorney in the wake of allegations from fired U.S. Attorney David C. Iglesias. Iglesias alleged that Domenici phoned him at his home and asked about a pending public corruption investigation.

The Senate Ethics Committee announced Monday that it has opened a preliminary inquiry into the matter, which will examine Iglesias's and Domenici's differing accounts of the phone call.

... Blalack, a partner in O'Melveny & Myers LLP's Washington office, is an experienced defense lawyer. As attorney for Cunningham, who is serving a sentence of more than eight years, Blalack dealt with one of the federal prosecutors who was later ousted, Carol S. Lam of San Diego.

Is it just me or does defending Domenici seem like a potential conflict of interest for Blalack, considering that it was another fired U.S. Attorney, Carol Lam, who was the prosecutor in the Duke Cunningham case? At the time she was fired, Lam had just finished putting together indictments against Cunningham co-conspirators Brent Wilkes (left in photo), a San Diego defense contractor, and Kyle "Dusty" Foggo (right in photo), executive director of the CIA until this May, on fraud and conspiracy charges. Some speculate that her firing was meant to cripple her expanding investigation of corruption in this vein, as she followed the evidence chain from San Diego to Congress, the Pentagon and the CIA. Wilkes and Foggo were indicted on February 13, 2007, two days before Lam's termination date.

Maybe it's just that Domenici will feel at home with Blalack because the attorney is obviously well versed in the layers of dirt that lurk behind the surface of certain elements of the Republican Congressional caucus. Whatever the reason, the cast of characters in this scandal is getting curiouser and curiouser. (Tip 'o the hat to TPMmuckraker, once again.)

Changing Tunes Again, Domenici Now Says He Can't Recall Violating Senate Ethics Rules

New Mexico Senator Faces Ethics Review, Possible Obstruction of Justice Investigation: GOP Senator Pete Domenici just can’t get his story straight. When news first broke that he called U.S. Attorney David Iglesias to pressure him about ongoing investigations, Domenici said he had no idea what Iglesias was talking about. Then when it became clear that Iglesias would testify before Congressional committees, Domenici reversed course and admitted to the conversation. And now that Iglesias has testified that he felt “sick” and “leaned on” after Domenici’s call to ask whether indictments would be brought before last November’s election, Domenici says he simply cannot “recall my mentioning the November election to him.”

“It’s getting harder and harder to keep track of Pete Domenici’s denials, since he comes up with a different version every day,” said DSCC spokesman Matthew Miller. “By tomorrow Pete Domenici won’t remember having ever met David Iglesias or even knowing what the U.S. Attorney does.  But Domenici’s denials have now been contradicted in sworn testimony by a respected former U.S. Attorney who was fired just weeks after he refused to bow to Domenici’s inappropriate and possibly illegal pressure. Pete Domenici is facing a Senate ethics investigation and a possible obstruction of justice review – he needs to start coming clean about his exact role in this growing scandal.”

Iglesias Said He Felt Pressured When Domenici Specifically Asked About Timing of A Potential Indictment: According to Iglesias’ sworn testimony yesterday, Domenici called him at home in October and asked of potential indictments in an Albuquerque corruption case, “Are those going to be filed before November?” Iglesias told the Committee recalling Domenici’s inquiry. “I said I didn't think so. He said, ‘I'm very sorry to hear that.’ And then the line went dead.” “I felt sick afterwards,” Iglesias said of Domenici’s call. “I felt leaned on to get this moving.”

First Denying the Call Altogether, Domenici Later Said He Didn’t Pressure Iglesias About the Specific Timing of a Pre-Election Indictment: After first denying talking to Iglesias at all, Sen. Domenici finally acknowledged on Sunday that he had, in fact, called Iglesias. He denied pressuring Iglesias and made no mention of asking Iglesias specifically about indictments "before November."

Ethics Expert Sees Potential For Criminal Obstruction of Justice Investigation: Stanley Brand, a former Capital Hill general counsel and ethics lawyer, said Domenici could be the focus of an obstruction of justice investigation by an independent counsel that could result in criminal penalties.

Sources: Albuquerque Tribune, 3/6/07, 3/7/07, 3/7/07; Domenici Statement, 3/4/07; AP, 3/5/07; NPR, 3/7/07. From the DSCC.

Editor's Note: You can read all our previous posts on this topic by visiting our U.S. Attorney Iglesias post archive.

Video: Iglesias Testifies in Senate on Wilson, Domenici Calls

Former U.S. Attorney for New Mexico, David Iglesias, testifies at this morning's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in response to questions by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). He contradicts the statements made by both Rep. Heather Wilson and Sen. Pete Domenici about the calls.

KUNM Audio: Albuquerque's public radio station, KUNM, has audio of Iglesias' 11+ minute exchange with Sen. Arlen Specter at the hearing, as well as audio of a news story on the matter that includes comments made by Iglesias at a news conference last week.

Meanwhile, Sen. Domenici released a statement after Iglesias' testimony saying he still doesn't know what Iglesias is talking about. I wonder if he issued it in his pajamas, er, hunting trousers....

Democratic Party of New Mexico Weighs In
John Wertheim, Chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, had this to say today about the conduct of Rep. Wilson and Sen. Domenici:

“It’s a real shame when people who present themselves as honest disgrace their political careers and their constituents by placing partisan gain above ethical governance,” said John V. Wertheim, Chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico.  “Wilson and Domenici brought pressure to bear on the U.S. Attorney and then sought political retribution when Iglesias would not co-operate.  This politically-motivated intervention into the judicial process is a very grave matter.  I hope Wilson and Domenici will start confronting their misconduct responsibly, stop denying its impact and stop blaming constituents for their behavior.”

Here's the entire statement released today by the Democratic Party of New Mexico:

IGLESIAS CONTRADICTS WILSON, DOMENICI

The depths of vulnerable Republican Congresswoman Heather Wilson’s hypocrisy was exposed today.  In front of House and Senate Committees, recently ousted U.S. Attorney David Iglesias testified that Wilson and U.S. Senator Pete Domenici pressured him to speed up ongoing investigations.  If handed down prior to the election, the alleged indictments would have provided partisan benefit to the embattled Wilson.

Iglesias’ testimony and news reports show that both Wilson and Domenici intervened in an ongoing investigation by contacting the U.S. Attorney’s office in October of 2006.  Wilson, whose knowledge of sealed indictments is itself suspicious, was lagging in public opinion polls at the time of the inappropriate calls.  Despite her cozy relationship with scandal-plagued congressional Republicans, Wilson made ethics and public corruption a central campaign issue.

“It’s a real shame when people who present themselves as honest disgrace their political careers and their constituents by placing partisan gain above ethical governance,” said John V. Wertheim, Chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico.  “Wilson and Domenici brought pressure to bear on the U.S. Attorney and then sought political retribution when Iglesias would not co-operate.  This politically-motivated intervention into the judicial process is a very grave matter.  I hope Wilson and Domenici will start confronting their misconduct responsibly, stop denying its impact and stop blaming constituents for their behavior.”

Wilson’s and Domenici’s initial attempts to stonewall the media only highlighted their guilty conduct.  Domenici and Wilson finally admitted in written statements that they phoned Iglesias.  Although their statements seem waffling and inconsistent, both Wilson and Domenici disingenuously blame anonymousconstituents for prompting them to violate congressional ethics rules.

An independent watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has filed a complaint against Domenici with the Senate Ethics Committee.  Communication by members of congress to U.S. Attorneys is inherently suspect because of congressional members role in the selection, approval and funding of U.S. Attorneys.  As the Washington Post editorialized today the calls were, "ethically dicey in any circumstance." [www.citizensforethics.org/]

Iglesias’ testimony today illustrates how Senator Domenici expressed his displeasure with the pace of the investigation by abruptly hanging up the phone when he became unhappy with Iglesias' response to his inquiry.  Meanwhile, Wilson has many questions to answer about, among other things, how and why she became involved in researching sealed indictments

The Democratic Party of New Mexico

Rapidly Emerging Stories on Iglesias Matter

Talking Points Memo reports "the White House 'was aware of [Domenici's] concerns' and as we showed last night, Domenici's concerns were Iglesias' too slow pace of indicting Democrats."

TPMmuckraker has video of the key portion of Iglesias' testimony this morning before the Senate Judiciary Committee. So does Think Progress.

Here's a live stream of this afternoon's House Judiciary Committee hearing on the attorney firings, and a Daily Kos thread is dedicated to live blogging. Health Haussamen has a local version on the House hearing.

After filing a complaint about Sen. Pete Domenici yesterday with the Senate ethics committee, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) today requested an investigation into Rep. Heather Wilson (R, NM-01) by the House ethics committee. Click for their complete letter. In their press release regarding Wilson, CREW said:

Rep. Wilson’s call to Mr. Iglesias violates chapter 7 of the House ethics manual, which prohibits members from contacting executive or agency officials regarding the merits of matters under their formal consideration. House rules also state that if a member wants to affect the outcome of a matter in litigation, the member can file a brief with the court, make a floor statement, or insert a statement into the Congressional Record. Directly calling officials to influence an ongoing enforcement matter is not an option.

House rules also state that a member may not claim he or she was merely requesting “background information” or a “status report” because the House has recognized that such requests “may in effect be an indirect or subtle effort to influence the substantive outcome of the proceedings.”

Rep. Wilson’s conduct may also violate the requirement that members conduct themselves in a manner that “reflects creditably on the House.” In a precedent cited by the House ethics committee when it admonished former Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), the House has held that members are prohibited from asking an executive branch employee to engage in an activity having an impermissible political purpose.

CREW’s complaint alleges Rep. Wilson contacted Mr. Iglesias to discuss an ongoing investigative matter for the impermissible political purpose of harming Democrats in the November elections.

In Bloomberg's Fired Prosecutor Says He Was Warned to Keep Quiet, "H.E. "Bud'' Cummins told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Mike Elston, the deputy attorney general's top aide, threatened him with retaliation in a phone call last month if he went public [about his negative views of the firings]. Cummins said he passed the warning on to five U.S. attorneys who were ousted last December, believing that was what Elston wanted.

And don't forget my earlier post on this morning's testimony.

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.

Breaking: Heather Wilson Admits Calling Iglesias

Rep. Heather Wilson (R, NM-01) claims she was trying to "help" U.S. Attorney David Iglesias when she called him about his public corruption investigations. Click for her complete statement. A Washington Post article also reported:

Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) acknowledged today that she contacted a federal prosecutor to complain about the pace of his public corruption investigations, as the Senate Ethics Committee signaled that it had opened a preliminary inquiry into a similar communication by the state's senior senator, Pete V. Domenici (R).

... "I did not ask about the timing of any indictments and I did not tell Mr. Iglesias what course of action I thought he should take or pressure him in any way," Wilson said in a statement to the Washington Post. "The conversation was brief and professional."

... Wilson said in her statement that many of her constituents had complained about "the slow pace of federal prosecutions" in corruption cases and said she was told by one unidentified constituent that "Iglesias was intentionally delaying corruption investigations."

Wilson also said she was trying to help Iglesias: "If the purpose of my call has somehow been misperceived, I am sorry for any confusion. I thought it was important for Mr. Iglesias to receive this information and, if necessary, have the opportunity to clear his name."

... Iglesias, one of seven U.S. attorneys fired by the Justice Department on Dec. 7, is expected to testify to Congress tomorrow that Wilson and Domenici were indeed trying to sway the course of his investigation. [emphasis mine]

Excuse Game Continues on Iglesias Firing

A front page story by Miss Laura at Daily Kos provides a nice summary of the latest in the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys, including David Iglesias. The White House admits it approved the decisions and claims it made a mistake in not explaining, upfront, that the firings were due to the attorneys "not doing enough to carry out President Bush's policies on immigration, firearms and other issues." Right, that's why there was so much secrecy and misinformation surrounding them. Note that the Bushies are now claiming those relieved of their duties were selected based on complaints to the Justice Department from various officials. Pete Domenici is mentioned as being one of the complainers who raised concerns about the performance of Iglesias, particularly on immigration, although he still won't admit he called Iglesias. I wonder if the excuses being offered by the administration will change again, like their ever-fluid reasons for attacking and occupying Iraq.

In related news, Christy Hardin Smith over at firedoglake is threatening to help organize an email/fax-in targeting the House and Senate Ethics Committees if they don't open investigations into the pressuring phone calls to Iglesias by Heather Wilson and Pete Domenici. The ethics rules clearly prohibit such intervention in federal investigations and prosecutions.

Patricia Madrid Weighs in on Iglesias Firing

Las Cruces blogger Heath Haussamen has an exclusive interview about the David Iglesias firing with former Attorney General Patricia Madrid, who was Rep. Heather Wilson's Democratic opponent in the November 2006 election in NM-01. Just go read it. Quite the scoop. Former reporter Haussamen is doing some stellar work these days ....

(Updated) Video of Iglesias KRQE Interview and More on Wilson - Domenici Ethics Scandal

UPDATE: Albuquerque's KOB-TV Eyewitness News 4 has video of their interview with David Iglesias.
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Albuquerque's KRQE News 13 aired a live one-on-one interview yesterday with fired U.S. Attorney David Iglesias conducted by news anchor Dick Knipfing. Click to watch video. Iglesias states that he got two separate calls on two separate days during the period of mid-to-late October 2006, each by a different member of the NM Congressional delegation, not staffers. Iglesias also said:

"I felt leaned on, I felt pressured to take immediate action."

"It's the only time during my five and a half year tenure as U.S. Attorney that I got a call from any member of Congress discussing any specific case or investigation.

"No recordings, and I'm reviewing possible documents I may be taking to the house for their review."

[Iglesias was asked] "When was the corruption matter going to be made public? When was I gonna go forward on prosecutions?"

A U.S. House Justice subcommittee has issued subpoenas to Iglesias and three other fired U.S. Attorneys and will hear their testimony on Tuesday. In addition, the Senate Judiciary Committee is sending letters to the same four asking them to testify voluntarily on Tuesday. If their testimony provides even a hint of possible unethical behavior related to their firings by a U.S. Justice Department headed by Bush toady Alberto Gonzales, Congressional Democrats are expected to launch one or more full-fledged ethics investigations into the matter. If that happens, the headlilnes nationwide and locally will no doubt be extremely damaging to the political futures of both Rep. Heather Wilson (NM-01) and Sen. Pete Domenici (D-NM). A post on Talking Points Memo has C-SPAN video of Sen. Chuck Schumer talking about the firing of Iglesias in terms of "politics of the worst sort."

The latest dispatch from McClatchy Newspapers, which broke much of the initial information on the firings, quotes two unnamed sources "familiar with the contacts" by members of the NM Congressional delegation about the calls:

Wilson was curt after Iglesias was "non-responsive" to her questions about whether an indictment would be unsealed, said the two individuals, who asked not to be identified because they feared possible political repercussions. Rumors had spread throughout the New Mexico legal community that an indictment of at least one Democrat was sealed.

Domenici, who wasn't up for re-election, called about a week and a half later and was more persistent than Wilson, the people said. When Iglesias said an indictment wouldn't be handed down until at least December, the line went dead.

As for how the growing scandal might affect the expected prosecution of alleged criminal offenses related to the construction of two state courthouses in NM, McClatchy reported:

The alleged involvement of the two Republican lawmakers raises questions about possible violations of House of Representatives and Senate ethics rules and could taint the criminal investigation into the award of an $82 million courthouse contract.

NPR also interviewed Igelsias yesterday. Click to listen. Excerpts:

The first call was in mid-October. The caller was asking –- this was not a staff member, an actual member of Congress -- the person was asking about “I want to know if there are any sealed indictments.” And I said, “Sealed indictments? We only do that for juvenile cases or national security cases. It’s fairly unusual.” Instantly red flags went up. I didn’t want to talk about it. Federal prosecutors can’t talk about indictments in general until they’re made public. So I was evasive, I shucked and jived like Walter Payton used to for the Chicago Bears, and the call was ended rather abruptly....

Approximately a week and a half later I got a second call from another member of Congress wanting to know about when the corruption matters were going to filed. Again, red lights went on. It was a very unpleasant phone call, because I know that members of Congress should not be making phone calls about pending matters, pending investigations, indictment dates, things of that nature.

Asked why he didn't want to name the callers, Iglesias said:

Because frankly, I’m afraid of retaliation. I live in a very small state with a very small legal community. And I’m frankly afraid if I go public right now, that there could be retaliation in terms of me being blacklisted, blackballed… you pick your adjective.

Repeal of NM Death Penalty to Senate Public Affairs Today

From the NM Coalition to Repeal the Death Penalty:
Our repeal legislation (HB 190) will be heard in Senate Public Affairs on Friday, March 2, after the Senate floor session. It's almost impossible to predict what time the committee hearing will begin or what time HB 190 will be heard. But we suspect it will be late afternoon or evening. On Tuesday, the committee began hearing bills at about 5:30 and ended at 9:00 PM. Below is a list of Senate Public Affairs members with their office phone numbers.

The two most important legislators to contact are Sen. Gay Kernan (R-Hobbs) and Sen. Steve Komadina (R-Corrales). Everyone should contact these two legislators, but if you know anyone in Hobbs or Corrales please have them contact them too!

Members of Senate Public Affairs Committee

• Senator Gay Kernan (R); 986-4274; ggkern@valornet.com
• Senator Steve Komadina (R); 986-4377; komadina@stevekomadina.com
• Senator Dede Feldman, Chair (D); 986-4482
• Senator Mary Jane Garcia, Vice Chair (D); 986-4726
• Senator Stuart Ingle (R); 986-4702
• Senator Steve Neville (R); 986-4266
• Senator Gerry Ortiz y Pino (D); 986-4380
• Senator Mary Kay Papen (D); 986-4270
• Senator David Ulibarri (D); 986-4265

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Kathleen MacRae, Director
NM Coalition to Repeal the Death Penalty
PO Box 8552, Santa Fe, NM 87504
505-986-9536 or 505-681-3920
kmacrae@nmrepeal.org

Editor's Note: This bill was already passed in the NM House by a margin of 41-28. It's been assigned to two commitees in the Senate -- Public Affairs and Judiciary.