Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Top Gonzales aide involved in US Attorney firings resigns
Monica Goodling, a key player in the U.S attorney firings, resigned from her post as an aid. Evidence shows that she was involved in several meetings planning the firings and was involved in a conversation with Senator Domenici about the topic. She announced through her lawyer that she would not answer any questions on this issue. In addition, she threatened to use her fifth amendment rights if she was subpoenaed.
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http://www.abqjournal.com/news/special/554986nm04-15-07.htm
The Albuquerque Journal has an article out this morning with new details regarding the firing of New Mexico US Attorney David Iglesias.
Here's the short version. Iglesias was not on the DOJ's hitlist prior to the 2006 election. In October, Senator Domenici called Iglesias and asked if a local Democratic political official would be indicted before the election. Iglesias said no.
After the election, well, I'll let the article pick up the timeline:
"At some point after the election last Nov. 6, Domenici called Bush's senior political adviser, Karl Rove, and told him he wanted Iglesias out and asked Rove to take his request directly to the president.
Domenici and Bush subsequently had a telephone conversation about the issue.
The conversation between Bush and Domenici occurred sometime after the election but before the firings of Iglesias and six other U.S. attorneys were announced on Dec. 7.
Iglesias' name first showed up on a Nov. 15 list of federal prosecutors who would be asked to resign. It was not on a similar list prepared in October.
The Journal confirmed the sequence of events through a variety of sources familiar with the firing of Iglesias"
There's a lot more in the article, including the fact that Gonzales and senior DOJ officials held Iglesias "in high regard" before Domenici complained to the White House.
Read the whole thing. The White House is at the center of the Iglesias firing. Dead center.
Yes, I know they can technically be let go for any reason as the President has full removal powers of an executive position but there are limits and relieving someone for purely political reasons is one of them if it can be seen as an obstruction of justice by attempting to force an attorney to not pursue a case or to force him/her to pursue a case they feel has no merit.
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