Democracy for New Mexico

Gracias: Richardson to the Rescue

I want to thank Gov. Bill Richardson for his recent actions related to several controversial but vital bills that, for one reason or another, either failed by a few votes or got stuck in the general chaos of the last days of the NM Legislative Session in Santa Fe that ended at Noon on Saturday.

Medical Marijuana
Richardson was instrumental in saving the medical marijuana bill (SB 523) from a confusing razor thin defeat in the NM Senate by stepping in to jawbone Dem legislators, change some minds and get the bill passed in the last week of the 60-day Session. As Gov. Richardson explained when he announced he would sign the bill, it was the "right thing to do" because the law is for people who "are suffering. My God, let's be reasonable." Amen. Seriously ill and dying New Mexicans will at last have an especially effective prescription pain and nausea palliative at their disposal. An Albuquerque Tribune editorial agrees. And don't forget the valliant efforts of Rep. Moe Maestas, who sponsored the bill and spoke so eloquently on its behalf.

Special Session Called for Tuesday
Now the Governor has called a Special Session of the NM Legislature to start this Tuesday, March 20, to deal with several other important bills that didn't get their due during the chaotic days at the end of our regular Session.

Domestic Partnerships
Governor Richardson's Special Session call will reportedly include reconsideration of the popular Domestic Partnership Rights and Responsibilities Act (HB 603) sponsored by one of our best legislators, Rep. Mimi Stewart. The measure, which would provide all our citizens with the option of creating a legally defined partnership -- useful in dealing with health care and end of life matters, retirement and tax requirements and other domestic and family arrangements -- was killed in the waning hours of the regular Session. Despite passage by the NM House and two Senate Committees, the bill was essentially gutted and fell to defeat when four Dem Senators suddenly sided with Republicans to kill the bill.

Although being inaccurately portrayed as a stealth gay marriage bill by right wing opponents, the legislation in fact has nothing to do with marriage. Just the opposite. It's designed as a legal remedy for a wide variety of New Mexicans, from senior citizens who need legal protections for their long-term partnerships but don't want to marry for financial or other reasons, to heterosexuals who prefer to live together under a legal agreement short of legal marriage, to homosexuals who are in dire need of basic legal protections for their child and family arrangements.

The concept of domestic partnerships is promoted in the Democratic Party platform and has the support of all but a few Democratic officeholders in the state, as well as the vast majority of rank and file Dems. Let's hope that the Governor, the bill's sponsors and ordinary citizens can persuade a few of the Dem holdouts that this is a much needed law that represents the best of core Democratic values.

GRIP II, Ethics Reform, Water Bills
The Governor's call is also expected to include the $200 million GRIP II infrastructure and road bill, which was filibustered by Repubs at the end of the session. Also reportedly on the call will be several of his ethics and campaign reform package initiatives -- including the always excellent Sen. Dede Feldman's bill to limit campaign contributions (SB 800), which failed by one vote in the Session's last minutes, and stand-up guy Sen. Pete Campos' bill to establish a state ethics commission (SB 815) -- as well a couple measures that deal with crucial water projects.

Express Yourself
If you agree with Governor Richardson's attempt to rescue these vital legislative initiatives, be sure to give his office (505-476-2200) and your legislators (website) a call and say so. I know I'll be doing just that. We'll let you know when the Special Session agenda is finalized so you can take action in support of the bills to be considered.

Iglesias on Fox News Sunday: "My Firing Was a Political Hit" (And More on "Voter Fraud")

Think Progress has video and a transcript. They report:

Today on Fox News Sunday, former U.S. attorney David Iglesias beat back several misleading claims by Bush administration officials, and reasserted that his firing was a “political hit,” not done for performance reasons.

He pointed out that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales agreed to write him a recommendation even after he was fired. “If [my firing] was performance based, there is no way they would have agreed to have allowed me to list them as a reference,” he said. “In fact, they agreed, telling me that the true nature was political, not performance.”

New York Times Has More
In the interview with Iglesias, Chris Wallace referred to today's New York Times front page story about the scandal, which reports:

Mr. Iglesias defended his handling of the vote-fraud and other investigations, saying his critics did not have access to the findings that guided his decisions. He says the attacks occurred because state Republican leaders felt betrayed, figuring “We helped the guy get the position, he owes us some kind of fealty.” [emphasis mine]

The article had this to say about the political maneuvering in New Mexico and Washington regarding Iglesias:

Mr. Iglesias said he had believed that his bosses shared his view that United States attorneys should stay above the fray. “I thought I was insulated from politics,” he said in an interview. “But now I find out that main Justice was up to its eyeballs in partisan political maneuvering.”

Since his ouster, Mr. Iglesias has received support from other federal prosecutors, who say the department failed to honor its obligation to ensure that decisions about prosecutions are free of political taint.

“People who understand the history and the mission of the United States attorney and Justice Department — they are uniformly appalled, horrified,” said Atlee W. Wampler III, chairman of a national organization of former United States attorneys and a prosecutor who served in the Carter and Reagan administrations. “That the tradition of the Justice Department could have been so warped by that kind of action — any American should be disturbed.”

Lack of Evidence of "Voter Fraud"
As to the alleged "voter fraud" that had Republican attorney Mickey Barnett and others so het up in 2004 in New Mexico, Iglesias lays out why he could not and did not bring charges, despite being pressured by Republicans eager for headlines they could use to their advantage in the election:

To appear even-handed, Mr. Iglesias set up a bipartisan task force with state officials to look into the matter. But soon after announcing his plan, he received an e-mail message from Mickey D. Barnett, a Republican lawyer who represented the Bush campaign in New Mexico, urging him just to bring federal charges against any violators.

Culling through about 100 tips about fraud, investigators found only a handful that had some merit, and “only one where we had a real shot,” Mr. Iglesias said.

That inquiry focused on the woman who had submitted the registration applications in the names of the teenagers and at least two dozen others. Mr. Iglesias said she had worked for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or Acorn, which had paid her and others in part based on how many applications they turned in.

He said that when the F.B.I. interviewed her, she did not make any clear admission of guilt. And under federal election law, Mr. Iglesisas said, prosecutors would have had to prove that the woman, who had been fired for other reasons, had falsified the applications with the intent of influencing the election. Mr. Iglesias said “it appeared she was just doing it for the money.”

Albuquerque Attorney John Boyd Weighs In
Be sure to read New Mexico FBIHOP's , which includes coverage of a Brad Blog story that reports on studies showing American "voter fraud" to be a bogus problem, as well as a must-read statement by Albuquerque attorney John Boyd, who represented the Democratic Party of New Mexico when state Repubs filed voter fraud claims in 2004.

Front-Paged at Daily Kos (Again)
The Party That Cried Voter Fraud is another excellent commentary on the "voter fraud" that wasn't, and why the Repubs are constantly crying wolf on this issue. Hint: It provides cover for their own extensively documented election fraud and gives them an excuse to try reduce the numbers of Democrats who register and vote.

For even more on the "voter fraud" angle to this story, read our previous post. All of our posts on the U.S. Attorney firings can be found in our archive.

MoveOn Needs You at Corrales Town Hall Meeting with Rep. Udall TODAY

Hey All,
We need numbers here tomorrow:

What: Rep. TOM UDALL TOWN HALL MEETING

WHEN: Friday March 16th 5pm (gather at 4:30 PM)

WHERE: CORRALES MUNICIPAL COURT (Corrales Rd. across from post office)

We will gather with signs, attend meeting, initiate serious dialog with Tom, etc.

TV AND LOCAL PRESS IS EXPECTED

Thanks for your support!

Mike Davis
Duke City/Corrales Council
MoveOn.org

U.S. Attorney Firings: The "Voter Fraud" Angle

The Bush wing of the Republican Party, nationally and here in New Mexico and other states, has long been pumping out misinformation and distorted spin about alleged "voter fraud." As I'm sure you've noticed, one of the major complaints about U.S. Attorney David Iglesias by Domenici, Wilson and other New Mexico Repubs has been that he didn't bring a voter fraud case before the 2004 election, or since.

Various mouthpieces for the Party have repeatedly claimed that massive voter fraud -- by Democratic voters or those registering them -- exists in our state. They claim to have turned over tons of "evidence" of this to Iglesas in 2004. They've been pissed off ever since because he obviously didn't find anything that merited the timely indictments they wanted to use for political hay. Instead, Iglesias appointed a bipartisan task force to study the problem. Surprise -- they found nothing but minor infractions and certainly nothing that rose to the level of "massive voter fraud." Regardless, the Repubs have kept up the disinformation campaign to this day, and now the Department of Justice is using the issue as yet another excuse for firing Iglesias and other U.S. Attorneys.

Iglesias Addresses "Voter Fraud" Claims
As reported today in an Albuquerque Tribune article, here's Igelsias' response to the accusations that he had adequate evidence to issue indictments for voter fraud in New Mexico but refused to do so for some reason:

Iglesias also countered Justice Department claims that his inability to bring indictments in a voter fraud case was a primary reason for his dismissal. His office was one of two in the nation, he told KRQE, that formed a voter fraud task force. It investigated numerous complaints about voter fraud but found only one case that might have gone forward.

"But after looking at the evidence" and conferring with higher level department officials, he said, "we decided jointly" not to pursue prosecution "because we did not have evidence beyond a reasonable doubt."

Repubs Push "Voter Fraud" Strategy in New Mexico
NM Repub State Chair, Allen Weh, continued the harangue on this non-issue into New Mexico's 2005 legislative session, where Repub lobbyists and legislators pushed strict voter ID bills as their preferred solution to a problem they couldn't prove existed. It was a part of a longstanding, Rove-inspired effort to make it harder for people to vote in swing states -- especially people who might be expected to vote Democratic. You may recall the problems created by Republican operatives in Florida and Ohio during the last two presidential elections.

While Dem legislators in Santa Fe worked with nonpartisan election reform activists and election officials to craft bills to improve many aspects of the New Mexico election process, including a switch to a paper ballot system statewide, many Repubs fought them tooth and nail and kept up the "voter fraud" litany. Many Bush Repubs voted against every single bill to reform and improve New Mexico's election process EXCEPT for voter ID measures.

Digging back into our archives, here's a post from early May of 2005 about Allen Weh's fact-impaired attack on Dem Sen. Linda Lopez and the election reform measures she helped craft and pass. It includes her response to Weh's wacky accusations. 

Ironic, isn't it, that Bush and his cronies keep trying to project their own sins onto Democrats in states where elections have recently been close ones? They keep crying wolf with their voter fraud allegations but, so far, haven't managed to come up with a shred of valid evidence to prove their case -- even when they hand their "documentation" to a Republican U.S. Attorney and pressure him any which way they can to get him to play ball with them.

Rove's Pattern of Using Concocted Indictments for Political Gain
More discussion of the voter fraud angle emerged today in an excellent Salon piece by Sidney Blumenthal entitled, "All Roads Lead to Rove." You really should read it in its entirety because it does such a great job of laying out Rove's involvement in the recent political purges, as well as his history of using the FBI for political gains. Here are a few nuggets:

White House spokeswoman, Dana Perino, acknowledged that the U.S. attorneys' dismissals were preceded by a conversation between President Bush and Gonzales last October in which Bush complained that some prosecutors were not pursuing voter fraud investigations. These were, in fact, cases that Rove thought were especially important to Republicans.

... Rove was the conduit for Republican political grievances about the U.S. attorneys. He was the fulcrum and the lever. He was the collector of information and the magnet of power. He was the originator, formulator and director. But, initially, according to the administration, like Gonzales, he supposedly knew nothing and did nothing.

... From the earliest Republican campaigns that Rove ran in Texas, beginning in 1986, the FBI was involved in investigating every one of his candidates' Democratic opponents. Rove happened to have a close and mysterious relationship with the chief of the FBI office in Austin. Investigations were announced as elections grew close, but there were rarely indictments, just tainted Democrats and victorious Republicans. On one occasion, Rove himself proclaimed that the FBI had a prominent Democrat under investigation -- an investigation that led to Rove's client's win. In 1990, the Texas Democratic Party chairman issued a statement: "The recurring leaks of purported FBI investigations of Democratic candidates during election campaigns is highly questionable and repugnant."

... In 2002, the first midterm elections of the Bush presidency, Republicans systematically raised charges of voter fraud involving Native Americans in the hotly contended U.S. Senate race in South Dakota. Though the accusations were never proved and the GOP failed to depose the Democratic senator, Tim Johnson, the campaign served as a template.

By the election of 2004, Rove became a repository of charges of voter fraud across the country, from Philadelphia to Milwaukee to New Mexico, all in swing states. In the campaign, unproven voter fraud charges, always aimed at minority voters, became a leitmotif of Republican efforts.

... In 2006, Rove addressed the Republican Lawyers Association on the "growing problem," as he put it, of voter fraud. Every instance he cited was in a swing state. New Mexico was one of them.

Rove had heard complaints from the New Mexico Republican Party chairman, Allen Weh, about David Iglesias, the state's U.S. attorney, for his supposed refusal to indict Democrats for voter fraud. Iglesias appeared to be a dream figure for local Republicans -- the model for the movie "A Few Good Men," Hispanic and evangelical. "Is anything ever going to happen to that guy?" Weh asked Rove at a White House Christmas party. "He's gone," Rove replied. Indeed, Iglesias' firing was already a done deal. [emphasis mine]

The Charade Continues
Funny, if you read local rightwing blogs, they're still insisting that Iglesias was justifiably in hot water because he refused to prosecute "voter fraud" cases. I still haven't heard any logical reason he might refuse, other than the fact that evidence didn't exist to justify indictments. I guess once the locals start repeating Rove's talking points, they can't bring themselves to stop even if the case they're trying to make is clearly not valid or factual.

Another good source of information on this issue is Talking Point Memo's archive of "voter fraud" posts that dates back to the 2002 election cycle.

To read DFNM's past coverage of the attorney purge, visit our post archive on the story.

Officer Candidates for State and County Dem Party to Address DPBC Meeting Thursday

From, Marvin Moss, Chair, Democratic Party of Bernalillo County: The regular DPBC Third Thursday Meeting will be held on March 15, at 6:00 PM in Room 2401 at the UNM Law School in Albuquerque and will hear from candidates for State and County Party offices. Click for map. All Democrats are welcome.

State Chair candidates Brian Colon and Michael Olguin, and Bernalillo County Chair candidates Robert Aragon and Ana Canales, will address the Third Thursday meeting. Candidates for the Vice Chair positions will be given an opportunity to introduce themselves. If other candidates for these positions wish to declare, they are welcome to do so at the meeting. Questions from the audience will be entertained.

Democratic Party of Bernalillo County, 1301 San Pedro Dr., NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110, 505-830-3650 ext.22, https://www.bernalillodems.org

Today's Insight NM Radio Talk Lineup

Tune in to Insight New Mexico, Albuquerque's weekly progressive talk radio show, today from 3:00 to 4:00 PM on 1350 AM. Host Eric Griego and sidekick Suzanne Prescott will be talking with NM Rep. Al Park, D-NM (above left), Las Cruces political blogger Heath Haussamen (above right) and PRC Vice Chair Jason Marks (below left), as well as fielding audience calls. To ask an on-air question, call 338-4090. To learn more about the show or today's guests, visit the Insight New Mexico website and blog. You can also find info on past guests and progressive organizations, and download podcasts (mp3s) of previous interviews. The Saturday show is rebroadcast on Sunday from 7:00 to 8:00 AM.

Originally signed up to broadcast during the NM Legislative Session, Eric and Suzanne are seriously considering continuing the show beyond March 17, when the 60-day Session wraps up. The show's coverage would switch to local and county politics and government. If you want progressive talk radio to continue, be sure to tune in, call in, spread the word to your friends and consider becoming a sponsor. To learn more, email .

Today's Mix: Iglesias, U.S. Attorney Firings

More tidbits on the burgeoning scandal surrounding the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys.

--Repubs Trash Iglesias: Once viewed by many in right wing circles as THE up and comer of Repub politics in the state, especially given his Hispanic, evangelical Christian background, David Iglesias is now being trashed by certain Repub bloggers and other mouthpieces of the Repub machine as a liar, cheater, egotist, ingrate, incompetent and even -- gasp -- a pawn of George Soros. I kid you not. I won't provide links because I don't want to drive traffic to the sources of these insults, but they're not hard to find.

--Domenici Caught in Another Lie: Domenici hired Lee Blalack, the former lawyer of both Duke Cunningham and Bill Frist, on February 28 -- the day that David Iglesias went public with his allegations. Despite having already secured expensive legal representation, Pete told the media he didn't know what Iglesias was talking about.
 
--Rovian "Vote Fraud" Strategy Figures in Cases: Karl Rove's apparent 2004 strategy to claim massive voter fraud on the part of Democrats figures prominently in the smearing of at least two U.S. Attorneys -- Washington's John McKay and New Mexico's David Iglesias. Both generated complaints from Republicans to the U.S. Justice Department because the attorneys found evidence inadequate to bring federal indictments (and headlines) for alleged illegal voter registration and other related voter fraud. According to TPMmuckraker's posts here and here, complaints were made about McKay's failure to pursue allegations of voter fraud by Democrats in Washington's 2004 gubernatorial election.

Here in New Mexico, the first grumblings about Iglesias began back in 2004 when the NM Republican Party's coordinated campaign to claim thousands of potential Democratic voters were fraudulent lost steam because Iglesias didn't think the evidence was sufficient to bring charges. I guess that's not allowed when Repubs want indictments for purely political reasons.

What I wanna know is: why would Iglesias -- a straight-arrow, Republican, evangelical Christian, former JAG attorney mentored by Domenici and befriended by Heather Wilson -- want to stop or stall indictments that would bring both his Party and himself significant political benefits unless there were serious problems with the evidence? Unable to accept such realitiess, too many on the right are suddenly pegging Iglesias as part of a vast left wing conspiracy against them. Desperation breeds delusional thinking. We've seen a lot of that lately, from Bush on down.

--Griffin Featured in BBC Voting Rights Expose: Investigative reporter Greg Palast gives us Bush’s New US Attorney a Criminal? The article details how "Timothy Griffin, Karl Rove’s assistant, the President’s pick as US Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas ... according to BBC Television, was the hidden hand behind a scheme to wipe out the voting rights of 70,000 citizens prior to the 2004 election. Key voters on Griffin’s hit list: Black soldiers and homeless men and women. You really need to read the entire article.

--Video Collection: We've featured various video and audio clips of Tuesday's Senate and House committee hearings with the fired attorneys, but Politics TV has put it all together with a collection of clips assembled from both hearings.

--Legal Basis for Ethics Complaints: Slate provides a clear analysis of the legal basis for bringing ethics claims against Rep. Heather Wilson and Sen. Pete Domenci

--Wison Campaign Donors: Duke Cunningham, Brent Wilkes, and Mitchell Wade (another co-conspirator in the Cunningham case) are all Heather Wilson donors:

• Brent Wilkes $1,000 
• ADCS PAC (Mitchell Wade) $2,000 
• Randy "Duke" Cunningham/Friends of Randy Cunningham $5,000

NM-3 Dems Urged to Participate in Platform and Resolutions Hearing

From Joe Casados, Regional Field Director, Democratic Party of NM: The Democratic Party of New Mexico would like to invite you to the Third Congressional District Platform and Resolutions Committee Hearing.

• Where: NEA New Mexico Building, 2007 Botulph Rd, Santa Fe, NM (click for map)
• When: March 24, 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon

This hearing, which will be led by Platform and Resolutions Committee of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, is an opportunity for the public and members of the community to contribute thoughts and views for the creation of the Democratic Party’s platform in 2008. The DPNM Rules and Bylaws require that we hold hearings such as these in each congressional district every year.

If you would like to address an important issue, please join us and encourage others to participate.  We value your views. If you have any questions, please contact the Democratic Party of New Mexico at (505)-830-3650 or info@nmdemocrats.org. Click for a map of New Mexico's Third Congressional District.

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.