Dangerous New Turn in Justice Department Investigation

Last week brought a dangerous new turn to the on-going United States Attorney and Justice Department disaster. Based on the evidence, career, non-partisan investigators recommended the appointing of a special prosecutor to determine whether criminal laws were violated in my ouster and that of my colleagues. No longer just a civil matter to blithely ignore, this ominous development could result in current and high level officials being indicted for crimes. I suspect the special counsel will "follow the emails" in the way that "follow the money" brought down Nixon's men during Watergate.

The Justice Department's independent watchdog offices, the Inspector General and Office of Professional Responsibility, finished the definitive investigation about the firings, stating that U.S. Attorneys may not be removed for an "illegal or improper reason." I was not disappointed or surprised by the findings contained in its blistering report which I cooperated with fully. Every reason given for my ouster was examined and rejected as "disingenuous after-the-fact rationalizations" by former Justice Department personnel, thus sounding the death knell to my alleged "performance-related" problems. More importantly, the firings of my colleagues and me "severely damaged the credibility of the Department and raised doubts about the integrity of Department prosecutive decisions" according to the investigation. Several Republican officials took key roles damaging America's premier crime fighting organization.

The 392-page report described a "fundamentally flawed" process of termination, one in which politics were allowed to overrule the historic independence of U.S. Attorneys. Pat Rogers, the New Mexico Republican committeeman, despite his incessant drone of criticism, curiously refused to cooperate with the Justice Department investigators, as did Senator Pete Domenici, his chief of staff Steve Bell, former White House Advisor Karl Rove, former White House Counsel Harriet Miers, and former DoJ official Monica Goodling. The Attorney General, Michael Mukasey called it straight, the removals were "haphazard, arbitrary and unprofessional". He further stated the reputations of the terminated US Attorneys were "unfairly tainted by the removals and their aftermath."

The local New Mexico GOP power brokers, on the other hand, did not care about the evidence, all they cared about was partisan wins, by any and all means. Rogers, former Republican Committeeman Mickey Barnett and New Mexico Republican Chairman Allen Weh among others,will never get it. Once in office, United States Attorneys, like federal judges, are required to stay out of politics. We were not like other political appointees since we are the only presidential appointees that have the power to take away a citizen's life, liberty, property and reputation. This is an awesome responsibility and must be administered fairly and without consideration of partisan gain.

Independence is not just a town in Missouri, it is the lifeblood of a prosecutor who must base his or her decisions solely on the law and evidence. Yet, Rogers, Weh, and Barnett with zero experience as prosecutors thought they knew best. Based on rumor and innuendo, they and others tried to improperly influence me to file cases that were non-provable or not ready to indict. This type of reprehensible practice may be acceptable in corrupt third world countries but it has no place in the United States where we venerate the rule of law and the Constitution.

The DoJ investigation was unsparing in its harsh criticism of our removals. The report summarized the issue succinctly, "If a U.S. Attorney must maintain the confidence of home-state political officials to avoid removal, regardless of the merits of the U.S. Attorney's prosecutorial decisions, respect for the Department of Justice's independence and integrity will be severely damaged and every U.S. Attorneys' prosecutorial decisions will be suspect. The longstanding tradition of integrity and independent judgments by Department prosecutors will be undermined, and confidence that the Department of Justice decides who to prosecute based solely on the evidence and the law, without regard to political factors, will disappear." This is the touchstone of our criminal justice system, without which we are slouching towards institutional corruption.

I pledge my full cooperation with Special Counsel Nora Dannehey, a career federal prosecutor. One thing is for certain; I will not second guess, criticize or attempt to improperly influence her in the way that Republican officials attempted to do to me. I've learned many lessons these past eighteen months -- prosecutorial independence is not a talking point and seeking justice can never be viewed as a political "wedge" issue.

David C. Iglesias was the United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico between 2001 and 2007. His is the author of the book, "In Justice: Inside the Scandal that Rocked the Bush Administration."

Comments

[serena1313]

Karl Rove had one goal in mind: establish a permanent Republican majority. By hook or crook he and others set off to accomplish that with the misguided notion that all Republicans would put party loyalty first over the Constitution, the rule of law, Justice and country. But they were wrong and what followed was a miscarriage of Justice.

The Bush administration's calloused, unconscionable move to terminate (7 - 9) US Attorneys, for refusing to be political pawns, was indubitably a fundamental abuse of power. In-addition to their promising careers ending, there are others. For instance former Alabama Democratic Governor Don Siegelman spent years in prison on trumped-up charges waiting for his case to be appealed. Within a mere 3-minutes the appellate court Justices concurred and he was released. For no other reason than raw political ambition, the GOP got rid of a popular Democratic Governor.

Those who use power to manipulate the Justice Department for their own political fortune and/or partisan gain must be investigated. If the evidence bears-out in trial and found guilty then that individual must be permanently removed from office.

If David and a few others had not stood up for Justice we would be none-the-wiser. It took a lot of courage to buck the Bush administration. Thank You.

A travesty of Justice occurs when a one-party majority serves power, not people.

[Carolab]

Karl Rove HAS one goal in mind. It's not past tense. And we most certainly are not out of the woods.

[Amalek]

It would be entirely appropriate for Obama to appoint this man as his first United States Attorney.

[marinemomof3]

I totally agree! This man has class beyond words. I am an Independent as I believe
he is when it comes to his job on the bench. Unbelieveable that Bush could of appointed
such a fine lawyer for Colorado. All of the fired attorneys, including mine here in San Diego,
Carol Lam, should get promoted. Even though their party affliation is RepugliCON.
Shame on Bush, Shame on Cheney, even more Shame of Gonzo. Why isn't he in prison?

Look what they have done to this country. The judicial system really needs to be totally revamped after Dubya is gone. How many other hacks are in there?

Goodling and her "caging" I think should also serve time to send a message. No free passes.
Accountability........something that has been missing for almost 8 years.

[johnie2xs]

Stellar idea, just stellar.

[twgbonehead]

You left out the word "General!".

[dubster]

Absolutely, or even Attorney General would be a good selection.

[happytrails]

In spite of his apparent respect for the Constitution of the US and for his belief in our system of justice, Iglesias was/is a Republican. And in spite of having been mauled by his party, I am not aware of his having renounced membership in that party. That being the case, I hope Obama would have second thoughts about Ingesias' appropriateness for an appointment.

[EndangeredJackalope]

Just to be certain, the "dangerous new turn" (the appointment of a special prosecutor), is a danger to Administration officials... not a danger to the pursuit of justice in this case, correct?

The title is a bit confusing/misleading.

[JBS]

Maybe the danger is it moves Bush one step closer to invoking NSPD-51.

The White House is certainly NOT going to appoint a special prosecutor, and any move by Congress to do so would surely be seen by the Bush junta as "disruption severely affecting ... government functions."

Just thinking about it, I don't think there's as much chance of Bush invoking it stop the election as there is of him invoking it afterward because "that one" happens to win.

[grizhead63]

Thank you! I'm glad this travesty wasnt swept under the political rug. The good guys DO win every now and then.

[GabrielVH]

i watched your appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher and i got interested in this case, glad to see truth and justice prevailed.

[Bluedanube]

You sir, are a profile in courage.

[curraheeswoman]

I would like to thank you for your courage,integrity and the honor you have displayed under difficult times.I hope that the Obama adminstration will appoint you as the next Attorney General of the United States.If anyone can heal our Justice Department,it will be you.Thank you for your bravery under fire.I want you to know that you are a hero.

[darker]

THANK YOU for keeping us informed.

I'd absolutely LOVE IT if -- finally-- high level officials of the Justice Dept. were indicted for crimes.
IT'S ABOUT TIME.

How much more can we take of REPUBLICAN ADDICTIONS to corruption??
NO MORE YEARS. WE CAN'T AFFORD republicans anymore!

Obama-Biden '08

[RnR]

Mr. Iglesias, have you ever considered changing parties? Just a thought . We really could use another good Democrat.

[twgbonehead]

I, for one, am happy to see that there's at least one good Republican!

[JesustheLiberal]

One great American!

[Floridafish]

Thanks for all of your work David Iglesias. Please stay safe.

[dct1999]

Thank you Mr. Iglesias. I applaud you for your courage, integrity and determination.

[JiminNC]

I apreciate your determination. Thank you.

[elcid66]

Mr. Iglesias you are doing the job of helping to keep our system of justice alive by providing a profile in courage to a nation that sorely needs one. As a fellow Latino attorney, I am very proud of your contributions and will hold you up as a historical role model to my own children.

[dubster]

I just want to echo your statements. I myself am a Latino who wants to attend law school after I graduate w/ distinction from college (in a couple of years); thus I'm proud to see Mr. Iglesias doing and living a life of integrity, courage, and professionalism. That is what I admire and hope to emulate because you don't see that quality in leadership with Hispanic men, which is unfortunately lacking in contemporary society. That's why I'm so proud of people like him and Gov. Richardson, Fredrico Pena, Henry Cisnero etc. And even Alberto Gonzales (although I'm ashamed and embarrassed that his professional demise came the way it did) I respect his vast accomplishments and to do it from such humble beginnings is inspiring, unfortunately he made some costly mistakes, namely partisan politics ahead of professionalism.

[pmprescott]

I want to thank you for speaking at West Mesa High School. It was very educational for the students.