David Iglesias (attorney)
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David Iglesias (49) was appointed by President George W. Bush as the United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico in August 2001 and confirmed by the US Senate in October 2001.[1] He was one of eight U.S. attorneys fired by the Bush administration in 2006 for "performance-related issues" under a controversial clause of the PATRIOT Act (see 2006 Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy). Iglesias had received a positive performance review before he was fired.
Iglesias is a United States Navy Reserve commander who was the basis for the character played by Tom Cruise in the movie A Few Good Men.[2]
He ran for New Mexico Attorney General as a Republican in 1998, but lost 51-49 to Democrat Patricia A. Madrid.
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[edit] Curriculum Vitae
According to the White House press release of August 2, 2001 announcing the President's intention to nominate Mr. Iglesias to the position of United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico,
"[Mr. Iglesias] is presently an Associate with Walz and Associates in Albuquerque as well as a Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve JAG Corps. He served as General Counsel to the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department from 1998 to 2001 and was Chief Counsel to the New Mexico Risk Management Legal Office from 1995 to 1998. Iglesias completed a White House Fellowship as a Special Assistant to the Secretary of Transportation in 1995. He was an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Albuquerque from 1991 to 1994 and an Assistant Attorney General in the New Mexico Attorney General's Office. He is a graduate of Wheaton College and the University of New Mexico School of Law."
A biographical sketch by Heather Jensen in the Winter, 2001 issue of the Wheaton College alumni magazine states,
"After graduating from Wheaton College and the University of New Mexico law school, David Iglesias ’80 began what would become a well-known legal career with the Judge Advocate General Corps. "In 1986, the year he joined the corps, he was called to represent two men accused of assaulting a fellow Marine at their base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.The case was the inspiration for the play and movie A Few Good Men. 'It was one of those things when I look back, I can see the hand of the Lord in it,' David says.
"That case was one of the experiences that laid the groundwork for David’s near-miss campaign for New Mexico’s attorney general post in 1998. 'I ran, really, to see what would happen,” he says. “I had never run for anything before, but I took to campaigning like a duck takes to water. . . . If you want to listen to people and to help people, politics is a great vehicle for that.'
"Between his years in the JAG Corps and his run for New Mexico attorney general, David worked as a prosecutor in Santa Fe and then tried his hand at civil litigation, defending police officers in civil rights cases.
"Another inspiring and defining moment came when David left Santa Fe for Washington, D.C., as a member of the exclusive White House Fellowship Program.
"David still serves in the Navy Reserves, and he has thrown his hat in the ring for the position of U.S. attorney for New Mexico. He expects to hear in February whether he will be nominated, but in the meantime he will work with a private firm.
"David, 43, and his wife of 12 years, Cynthia, have four daughters, and although he enjoyed his years in Washington, New Mexico is home. Future goals include ascending to the bench, but not until he’s 'old and gray.' Meanwhile, David says he will follow the path he feels the Lord has put before him.
“'The core of who I am is a practitioner of Christianity,” he says. “No one ever gets it perfect, but we practice and live by grace.'”
An Associated Press article that appeared in the Houston Chronicle on May 6, 2003, National Guard Inspectors' Exit From Border Stokes Worries, indicates that Mr. Iglesias headed a panel that advised the US Attorney General on matters of homeland security:
"David Iglesias, the U.S. Attorney in Albuquerque, N.M., and chairman of a panel that advises U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft on homeland security, said during a recent border tour that he opposed pulling the Guard out."
On the television show Hardball with Chris Matthews on March 22, 2007, Iglesias indicated that he was not interested in a future political career, and would be more interested in a media job.
[edit] USA Dismissal
| Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy |
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In October 2006 (prior to the 2006 midterm election) Senator Pete Domenici called and "pressured New Mexico U.S. attorney Iglesias to speed up indictments in a federal corruption investigation that involved at least one former Democratic state senator. When Iglesias said an indictment wouldn't be handed down until at least December, "the line went dead." Iglesias was fired one week later by the Bush Administration as part of the Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy. Also in October Representation Heather Wilson called about the indictments in a federal corruption investigation that involved at least one former Democratic state Senator."[3]
Allen Weh, chairman of the New Mexico Republican Party, said said he complained in 2005 about then-U.S. Attorney David Iglesias to a White House aid for Rove, asking that Iglesias be removed.[4] Then in 2006 Rove personally told Weh “He’s gone,” Rove said.[4]
Indeed, one of the stated reasons for Iglesias' dismissal, by Administration officials, was dissatisfaction in his prosecution of voter-fraud cases. Nevertheless, Iglesias "had been heralded for his expertise in that area by the Justice Department, which twice selected him to train other federal prosecutors to pursue election crimes" and was "one of two chief federal prosecutors invited to teach at a 'voting integrity symposium' in October 2005... sponsored by Justice's public integrity and civil rights sections."[5]
Iglesias alleged that in October 2006 he received inquiries regarding the timing of a federal probe of a kickback scheme involving local Democrats from two congressmen whom Iglesias refused to name for fear of retribution. He said that they appeared eager for there to be an indictment in time to assist the Republicans in the upcoming November election, and believed that he was ultimately fired for refusing to expedite matters.[6] In comments to the Albuquerque Journal he described them as "two members of the New Mexico delegation".[7]
He was to be replaced with Larry Gomez, the man who had been his assistant.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ US Attorney Presidential Nomination New Mexico
- ^ "Fired U.S. attorney alleges political pressure", Dallas Morning News, February 28, 2007. Retrieved on 2006-03-16.
- ^ Taylor, Marisa. "Sources: GOP lawmakers tried to influence federal investigation", McClatchy Newspapers, March 1, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
- ^ a b "Report: Rove was urged to oust U.S. attorney", MSNBC, March 11, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
- ^ Amy Goldstein. "Justice Dept. Recognized Prosecutor's Work on Election Fraud Before His Firing", Washington Post, March 19, 2007, p. A04.
- ^ http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/16802797.htm
- ^ http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002654.php
- ^ "Iglesias: I'll name names", The Albuqueque Tribune, February 28, 2007. Retrieved on 2006-03-16.
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- "Why I Was Fired", by David C. Iglesias, The New York Times, March 21, 2007
- Purged: A Q&A with Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, Interview with GQ, by Greg Veis, March 28, 2007
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