(Schumer) Senator demands AG clear Iglesias' name

[maddezmom]

Source: Associated Press

Senator demands AG clear Iglesias' name By JENNIFER TALHELM, Associated Press Writer
45 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - A New York senator is demanding a retraction from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on behalf of New Mexico's former U.S. attorney, who was fired along with seven other prosecutors last year.

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Sen. Charles Schumer (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y., wrote Gonzales on Friday demanding that the attorney general clear David Iglesias' name. Schumer's letter came the day after Gonzales' former chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, testified before Congress that in hindsight, he would not have recommended Iglesias for dismissal.

Sampson orchestrated the firings for department officials as part of a plan to replace some prosecutors in President Bush's second term. He added Iglesias' name late in the process but on Thursday said he couldn't remember exactly why.

"In light of these startling admissions by your former chief of staff, it is imperative that you restore Mr. Iglesias' tarnished reputation by confirming that his performance as a U.S. attorney did not warrant dismissal," Schumer wrote to Gonzales.

Iglesias has repeatedly said that he wants a written retraction from the Justice Department stating that performance had nothing to do with his dismissal.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070331/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/fired_prosecutors

[murielm99]

1. I read here that someone

or some group is running smear commercials against Iglesias. Do you know who is behind that? Have you seen them?

[maddezmom]

2. I hadn't heard, but found these links: New Mexicans for Honest Courts

New Mexico radio ad takes stab at Iglesias' record
(13 comments; last comment posted March 29, 2007 04:53 pm) print | email this story


ennifer Talheim | The Associated Press
March 29, 2007

WASHINGTON -- A little-known group calling itself New Mexicans for Honest Courts has launched a radio spot taking aim at the record of former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias of New Mexico, one of eight federal prosecutors fired by the Bush administration last year.

The firing of all eight is the subject of a congressional investigation and has led several lawmakers to call for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to step down.

Democrats have questioned whether the prosecutors were improperly dismissed for political reasons because the GOP was unhappy with their work on political corruption cases.

Aired this week in Albuquerque and Roswell, the ad repeats Republicans' assertions that Iglesias was fired because he was a poor manager who made bad decisions about which cases to pursue.

It criticizes his decision not to prosecute several voter fraud cases and the outcome of the trial of former state Treasurer Robert Vigil, who was convicted on just one of 24 counts.

more:http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/59367.html

mrs panstreppon's Blog
Who is behind New Mexicans for Honest Courts?
By mrs panstreppon | bio
1 of 1 people recommend this blog entry.

How about Rod Adair, state senator for New Mexico's 33rd district? No one should be surprised that Adair supports voter suppression.

Last night, Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo asked for help in finding out about who is behind New Mexicans For Honest Courts. The group is conducting a smear campaign against fired US Attorney David Iglesias and has a website, HonestCourts.com..

The website is registered to Harvey Wayne Klick of Lawrence Kansas.

From Harvey's website, Web Pages By Wayne Harvey:

http://americaabroad.tpmcafe.com/blog/mrs_panstreppon/2007/mar/29/who_is_behind_new_mexicans_for_honest_courts

[Kagemusha]

3. I'll just sum up and say, "the usuals"

saying how Iglesias is a bum and he shouldn't be so surprised he got turfed out for performance because his performance sucked.

I'd hate to see what the records of the BAD ones look like.

[salin]

4. That is *my* question... those who got the bushie approval have been

up to exactly what?

[annabanana]

5. He should be exonerated and REINSTATED!

They should ALL be back on the bench.

[RogueBandit]

6. Punishment

Seems to me that not only are they being punished by losing their appointments, they are being punished in a way that sends a message to all appointed judges...do what I want or be forever marked as a loser.