www.nytimes.com/2007/03/21/opinion/21iglesias.html
Article Tools Sponsored By By DAVID C IGLESIAS Published: March 21, 2007 Albuquerque WITH this weeks release of more than 3,000 Justice Department e-mail messages about the dismissal of eight federal prosecutors, it seems clear that politics played a role in the ousters. Of course, as one of the eight, Ive felt this way for some time. But now that the record is out there in black and white for the rest of the country to see, the argument that we were fired for performance related reasons (in the words of Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty) is starting to look more than a little wobbly. 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. 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. Ms Wilson asked me about sealed indictments pertaining to a politically charged corruption case widely reported in the news media involving local Democrats. Prosecutors may not legally talk about indictments, so I was evasive. Shortly after speaking to Ms Wilson, I received a call from Senator Domenici at my home. The senator wanted to know whether I was going to file corruption charges the cases Ms Wilson had been asking about before November. When I told him that I didnt think so, he said, I am very sorry to hear that, and the line went dead. A few weeks after those phone calls, my name was added to a list of United States attorneys who would be asked to resign even though I had excellent office evaluations, the biggest political corruption prosecutions in New Mexico history, a record number of overall prosecutions and a 95 percent conviction rate. Not only had we not been insulated from politics, we had apparently been singled out for political reasons. Without the benefit of reviewing evidence gleaned from FBI investigative reports, party officials in my state have said that I should have begun a prosecution. What the critics, who dont 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. Whats more, their narrative has largely ignored that I was one of just two United States attorneys in the country to create a voter-fraud task force in 2004. Mine was bipartisan, and it included state and local law enforcement and election officials. 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 FBI and the Justice Departments public integrity section. As much as I wanted to prosecute the case, I could not overcome evidentiary problems. The Justice Department and the FBI did not disagree with my decision in the end not to prosecute. Yesterday, the Senate voted to overturn a 2006 provision in the Patriot Act that allows the attorney general to appoint indefinite interim United States attorneys. The attorney generals chief of staff has resigned and been replaced by a respected career federal prosecutor, Chuck Rosenberg. The president and attorney general have admitted that mistakes were made, and Mr Domenici and Ms Wilson have publicly acknowledged calling me. I appreciate his gratitude for my service this marks the first time I have been thanked. But only a written retraction by the Justice Department setting the record straight regarding my performance would settle the issue for me. David C Iglesias was United States attorney for the District of New Mexico from October 2001 through last month.
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