VIDEO: Iglesias Details ‘Unprecedented’ Pressure Calls From Domenici and Wilson
VIDEO: Iglesias Details ‘Unprecedented’ Pressure Calls From Domenici and Wilson
The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding hearings today on the Bush administration’s purge of at least eight U.S. Attorneys. For the first time, U.S. Attorney David Iglesias publicly detailed how he was pressured by two members of Congress, and said that he believed his resistance to that pressure led to his firing.
Iglesias first described the call he received “at home” from Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM), saying it “was the only time I had ever received a call from any member of Congress while at home during my tenure.” Domenici called to prod Iglesias “about corruption matters or the corruption cases [involving Democrats] that had been widely reported in the local media.” Here’s how Iglesisas described the conversation:
Domenici: “Are these going to be filed before November?”
Iglesias: “I didn’t think so.”
Domenici: “I’m very sorry to hear that.” [Line goes dead]
Iglesias also detailed his call from Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM), which occurred roughly two weeks prior to Domenici’s call. Iglesias said that after some light chit-chat, Wilson said “she’d been hearing about sealed indictments” and asked Iglesias for details. “The second she said any question about sealed indictments, red flags went up in my head,” Iglesias said. “We specifically cannot talk about a sealed indictment.” Iglesias likened it to calling up a nuclear scientist and saying, “let’s talk about those secret codes, those launch codes.”
Watch it:
CREW has asked for ethics investigations into both Domenici and Wilson. TPM and TPMMuckraker both have additional coverage.
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Verdict on Scooty up soon.
March 6th, 2007 at 11:29 amAt home! Don’t tell me there isn’t a power play with that. This is a classic example of using a violation of a boundary to exert power and control over someone.
March 6th, 2007 at 11:32 amCall out the corrupted, lying, cheating Republiscums.
March 6th, 2007 at 11:32 amI’m tellin’ ya, this is really heating up. The noose is tightening around Gonzales’ neck. When they start digging up who ordered the firings and what other members of Congress might have been involved, it could get really ugly.
March 6th, 2007 at 11:37 amAbout those sealed indictments, hmm, can you tell me, hmm. Yeah, well, you know, anything ? Hmmm>??
March 6th, 2007 at 11:38 amI’m thinking this is heading towards an impeachment of Gonzo for obstruction of justice.
March 6th, 2007 at 11:41 am#6 That would be a good start…….Blessings
March 6th, 2007 at 11:47 amGonzo gets what he deserves. He stated there is no inherent right to Habeus Corpus.
March 6th, 2007 at 11:48 amGonzo the Clown really overreached on this one. The corrupt always make a mistake eventually. They can’t help themselves.
March 6th, 2007 at 11:51 amTrend, pattern, or just coincidence?…
While skimming the news this morning, I cam across a trio of quasi-related tidbits, which is all the excuse I needed to blog about ‘em:
March 6th, 2007 at 11:58 am…
Wilson was the lady that CRIED because of Janet Jackson’s tit !??!
March 6th, 2007 at 12:01 pmLooks like another bad week for Chimpy.
March 6th, 2007 at 12:18 pmHeather Wilson cried because of Janet Jackson’s tit?
I beleive it.
First off: Heather must be of the usual self-hating GOPwomyn who cannot handle anything womanly.
Second: She cries for a society which puts the dollar above all else, which is behind the titty debacle. And to top it off, she is of the party that puts the dollar above all else. She helped create the Janet Jackson titty fiasco. Idjut.
March 6th, 2007 at 12:20 pmI would love to see this EXPLODE on the republicans in the coming weeks.
March 6th, 2007 at 12:25 pmNot looking good for Speedy.
“To think we made these changes to retaliate or because they didn’t carry out certain prosecutions?” Gonzales said “That did not occur here. I stand by the decision to make the changes.”
Did they remember to swear speedy in, didn’t they?
March 6th, 2007 at 12:54 pmThis guy was the role model for the Tom Cruise character in A Few Good Men, apparently. How appropriate that Guantanamo is more than ever an issue.
March 6th, 2007 at 12:54 pmWilson, Domenici, and Gonzales should all be sending thank you cards to Scooter today.
March 6th, 2007 at 1:46 pmThe reported calls to Mr. Iglesias were clear and simple attempts to intimadate the U.S. Attorney into helping Congresswoman Heather Wilson in her uphill battle to retain her Congressional seat. Wilson was involved in a very close battle with Attorney General Patricia Madrid, and she needed a corruption charge on a Democrat to descredit Madrid. PURE POLITICS.
March 6th, 2007 at 2:00 pm[...] UPDATE: ThinkProgress has the video of Iglesias’ testimony to the panel. Check it out. [...]
March 6th, 2007 at 2:08 pmWhat’s wrong with my last two postings? Is someone asleep at the wheel?
March 6th, 2007 at 2:17 pmAccording to Senator Domenici’sprepared statement, published in the Albuquerque Journal, Domenici had already (months before November)recommended that Iglesias be fired. So how are we to believe that the call [we did not know it was to Iglesias' residence!] was NOT a pressure call? The hang up iself was a pressure play. And Domenici is a lawyer by profession. You had a world of good will in New Mexico, Senator. What now?
March 6th, 2007 at 2:38 pm[...] Earlier today, the former U.S. attorney for New Mexico David Iglesias also publicly detailed how Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) pressured him in an investigation. [...]
March 6th, 2007 at 2:49 pmWatch a few more of these former US attorneys speak out about this.
March 6th, 2007 at 2:53 pmDAMN!
…Could we borrow Taiwan’s Parliament…
…I’ll bet we could get some sh*t stirred up with those jokers…
…kick boxing, sho throwing…
…the works…
…maybe that would INSPIRE the DUHmerican public…
…to action…
…against the criminal Bushite junta…
March 6th, 2007 at 3:18 pmYeah lets look right past the corruption of the NM Democrats that led to the case in the first place…
March 6th, 2007 at 4:28 pmRep. Wilson graduated from the AF Academy. When she was head of Children Youth and Families in NM she had a report relating to her “husband’s” “inappropriate” action with a boy taken out of file. She was on the page committee during the time the Fla Rep was also “inappropriate” with young male pages…..These are a matter of record.
March 6th, 2007 at 6:25 pmThis hearing is so important – I hope that it gets a few headlines next to the Libby headlines. This case demonstrates the pervasive corruption among the immoral, unethical Republicans who make up the party today.
# 26 shelly Thanks for reminding me – I had forgotten all about that stealthy act.
March 6th, 2007 at 7:15 pmKeep your eyes on this one – it is as important as the Libby trial. Read all you can about the Jack Abramoff scandal and how it connects to the disgraced, ousted, jailed former Congressman Cunningham. Prosecutor Carol Lam was continuing to work on this case to bring all of the Congresspersons involved in this major scandal to justice when bush/gonzales fired her. This cannot stand. Call on Congress to appoint Carol Lam to help with the Senate investigations of the Cunningham scandal and to convict other high officials for stealing our treasury to give to non-existent defense contractors.
March 7th, 2007 at 4:41 am[...] provided video of David Iglesias’ testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Iglesias cited “unprecedented” pressure from Senator Domenici and Congresswoman Wilson. This part of Iglesias’ testimony, regarding [...]
March 8th, 2007 at 7:58 am[...] Iglesias also resisted pressure from Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM), who made “unprecedented” — and possibly illegal — calls to him to prosecute Democrats before the Nov. 2006 elections. [...]
March 18th, 2007 at 10:50 am[...] Iglesias also resisted pressure from Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM), who made “unprecedented†— and possibly illegal — calls to him to prosecute Democrats before the Nov. 2006 elections… [...]
March 19th, 2007 at 6:44 pm[...] felt pressured to indict New Mexico Democrats before the election, citing telephone calls from prominent Republican politicians. He resisted the pressure, and is among those US Attorneys who are now looking for a job. [...]
March 27th, 2007 at 12:16 pm