Result of Vigil retrial will impact congressional race

The race between U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., and Democratic challenger Patricia Madrid could be decided by the retrial of former state Treasurer Robert Vigil.

Wilson and the Republican Party have been relentless in their attacks on Madrid, New Mexico’s attorney general, over allegations that she failed to investigate the scandal in the treasurer’s office years ago.

Vigil’s first trial on federal charges of extortion, racketeering and racketeering conspiracy ended with a hung jury in May. In June, Madrid announced indictments on state charges against four who testified against Vigil, based on their testimony in the first trial.

Republicans said the indictments were politically motivated and might end up hurting the federal case against Vigil.

At the start of Vigil’s retrial on Tuesday, Kent Nelson, an investment advisor and key witness in the case, invoked his Fifth Amendment right, citing the indictment by Madrid, according to the Albuquerque Journal. He will not testify.

That doesn’t ruin the federal case. Nelson’s testimony from the first trial can be admitted, but reading stacks of transcripts or listening to hours and hours of audio recordings might not have the same impact as seeing, in person, the nervous, emotional man who cried on the witness stand the first time around.

Nelson admitted during the first trial that he was the person on videotape handing Vigil money from cash-stuffed envelopes.

Madrid claims her office promised Nelson that testimony he gave in the retrial would not be used against him in the state case, but Nelson’s attorney said it wasn’t enough.

The other three who are indicted, including Vigil’s predecessor Michael Montoya, have indicated they will testify, according to the Journal.

Nelson might be angling for the dismissal of the state charges, realizing as well as anyone else the political implications if Vigil is not convicted. The Republican-controlled U.S. Attorney’s office will likely blame Madrid for messing up its case.

Regardless of whether he is guilty in a court of law, seeing Vigil walk could have a devastating effect in the court of public opinion for Madrid, who, according to this weekend’s Journal poll, was in a statistical dead-heat with Wilson.

Stay tuned.