Your search for david iglesias returned 114 results

Deputy U.S. attorney general quits over controversy

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Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty is resigning, making him the highest-ranking Bush Administration employee to leave over the U.S. attorney controversy. It was McNulty whose comments really caused the situation surrounding last year’s firing of eight U.S. attorneys, including David Iglesias of New Mexico, to explode when he testified under oath in February that at least one was ousted to make way for a Karl Rove protégé. You can read more about his resignation by clicking here. Continue Reading

Hearing sheds no new light on U.S. attorney firings

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U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was grilled by a House panel today on last year’s firings of eight U.S. attorneys, including David Iglesias of New Mexico. According to the Associated Press, Gonzales didn’t say much more to the House Judiciary Committee than he did when he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee last month. “My feelings and recollections about this matter have not changed,” Gonzales said today. This investigation is continuing, and the focus has really shifted to the White House’s involvement in the firings. It’s difficult to predict what will happen next. Continue Reading

Domenici can’t seem to get a break

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U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici just can’t get a break. Already under fire for his role in the U.S. attorney scandal, he was slammed by a Bloomberg.com columnist yesterday for arriving late to the funeral of a Washington lobbyist. At Jack Valenti’s funeral on Tuesday, former Time magazine White House correspondent Margaret Carlson wrote, Domenici arrived 20 minutes late. It was the exact moment the funeral procession began. “Like most senators, Domenici isn’t used to waiting even for the deceased,” Carlson wrote. Continue Reading

Domenici scandal creates opportunity for a young, energetic Democrat to become an elite player

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The U.S. attorney scandal has created a ripe opportunity for an up-and-coming Democrat to jump into the top-tier of politicos in the party. Democrats are having trouble recruiting an elite candidate to run against the 74-year-old Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., who was once untouchable but has watched his approval rating drop since mid-February, when the U.S. attorney scandal first broke. There is a good reason many of the top-tier Democrats don’t want to run against him: He’s Pete. Though his approval rating has fallen from 64 percent to 54 percent in two months, he still won’t likely to lose the election. But there are other reasons this is a great race for an up-and-coming Democrat. Continue Reading

Domenici’s approval rating continues to drop

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U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici’s approval rating continues to drop. Last month’s SurveyUSA poll, conducted March 12, found that 57 percent of New Mexicans approved and 35 disapproved of the job the New Mexico Republican is doing. It was the lowest approval rating for the senior senator since at least May 2005. Now it’s lower. The newest poll, conducted April 13-15 and released Wednesday, has Domenici’s approval rating at 54 percent, with 38 percent saying they disapprove of the job he’s doing. Continue Reading

Leadership fight reveals disunity that hampers GOP

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Because they were united, House Republicans were a force during this year’s legislative session, and they accomplished a lot. By contrast, the Republican Party of New Mexico failed to capitalize on any of Gov. Bill Richardson’s arguably ethically challenged decisions and handed him a landslide victory last year as he was preparing to run for president. They failed to pick up any statewide offices. Though they were three seats away from having a larger influence in the state House, and they failed to gain any ground. This weekend’s fight over who would be state party chair reveals the reason. Continue Reading

Madrid says she can aid investigation of Domenici, might also challenge state’s senior senator next year

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Former New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid says she’s waiting to see what happens with a pending ethics investigation before deciding whether to run against U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., next year. She also believes the Senate Ethics Committee should interview her in the course of its investigation into the senator’s actions. Shortly after losing to U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M. last year by 861 votes out of more than 211,000, Madrid said she might run for Senate or governor in the future. Since then, Domenici and Wilson have been dogged by allegations that they had former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias fired because he refused pressure from them to speed indictments in a public corruption probe. Such indictments, which were issued last month and included former Democratic state Senate President Manny Aragon, might have aided Wilson in her re-election bid. Continue Reading

Guv explains why he hasn’t called for Gonzales ouster

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Gov. Bill Richardson says he hasn’t joined other Democrats and a number of Republicans in calling for the firing of U.S. Attorney Alberto Gonzales because they’re both Hispanic. Richardson’s comments were published today in The Hill. “The only reason I’m not there is because he’s Hispanic, and I know him and like him,” The Hill quoted Richardson as saying. “It’s because he’s Hispanic. I’m honest. Continue Reading

Senate vote confirms investigation of Domenici

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The U.S. Senate has confirmed that Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., is the subject of an ethics inquiry over his involvement in former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias’ firing, The Politico is reporting. On Tuesday, the Senate adopted a resolution excusing Ken Salazar, D-Colo., from the investigation. That was apparently done because of Salazar’s friendship with former state Attorney General Patricia Madrid, who narrowly lost in her attempt to unseat U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., last year. The friendship could be a conflict because Iglesias alleges that Wilson and Domenici tried to pressure him to speed indictments in a public corruption probe in time to sway voters and help Wilson in her re-election bid. Senators are investigating whether Domenici’s October 2006 phone call to Iglesias violated Senate ethics. Continue Reading

ABQ mayor makes gubernatorial campaign stop in LC

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Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez wants people to know Lt. Gov. Diane Denish’s bid to be the next governor isn’t a done deal. The mayor was in Las Cruces today to campaign for the 2010 gubernatorial race. He’s not saying he’s officially running, but Denish declared her intent to run shortly after the November 2006 election, which forced Chávez to form a committee and begin raising funds to keep up. With Denish as his running mate, Chávez ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1998. “I think I have so much to offer now, and I’m a very different candidate than I was a decade ago,” the 55-year-old Chávez said in an interview that went back and forth between serious conversation and jokes. Continue Reading

Domenici aims to discourage potential challengers

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U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici is going to report Monday that he has already raised $500,000 for the 2008 campaign, and his aides are touting the total in an effort to keep potential competitors away. The Albuquerque Tribune is reporting that Domenici has raised $393,000 this year and hopes to have more than $1 million by June. He plans to raise more than $4 million for the race. “It shows he’s running an aggressive campaign,” Domenici’s campaign finance director, Heidi Fuller, was quoted by the Tribune as saying. Federal reports, including those for presidential candidates, must be filed by Monday. Continue Reading

Homans considers challenging Wilson for Congress

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Fresh off securing approval of the spaceport tax in Doña Ana County, New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Rick Homans is seriously considering running against U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson next year. A source who has been directly involved in the conversations confirmed that Homans, 50 and a Democrat, is “very seriously considering getting into the race.” The source also said Gov. Bill Richardson has pledged to support Homans in a Democratic primary. New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District race was one of the hottest in the nation in 2006, with the Republican Wilson defeating Democratic challenger Patricia Madrid by 861 votes out of more than 211,000. Since then, Wilson has been dogged by her role in the burgeoning U.S. attorney scandal, and many analysts believe she is more vulnerable than ever. Though the district has a Democratic majority, Wilson has fought off strong challengers to keep the seat since she was first elected in 1998. Continue Reading

Indictments coming today in courthouse probe

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Multiple sources told the Albuquerque Tribune that long-awaited indictments in a major corruption investigation are expected today. In investigation into kickbacks related to the awarding of government contracts for buildings in Bernalillo County has been ongoing for more than a year. One of the targets of the probe has been former Senate President Manny Aragon. This is the investigation U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson called former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias about last year, a month before the November election and two months before he was fired. Iglesias alleges the two members of Congress pressured him to speed indictments in time to sway voters in the November 2006 election, which both deny. Continue Reading

Justice official invokes Fifth Amendment, won’t shed light on U.S. attorney firings or Domenici meeting

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A Justice Department senior aide is refusing to testify about a meeting with Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. and other involvement she had in the decision last year to fire eight U.S. attorneys. Monica Goodling’s decision to invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination was advised by her attorney, who told the Associated Press the Senate Judiciary Committee’s inquiry into the firings is a perjury trap. Goodling’s decision to refuse a subpoena means she won’t shed light on the conversation with Domenici, who says he complained about former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias. Goodling, the Justice Department’s liaison to the White House, was intimately involved in the firings and considered a key witness in the investigation. She’s currently on voluntary leave from her job. Continue Reading

Documents appear to contradict Gonzales’ claim of limited involvement in U.S. attorney firings

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Support for U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales continued to be stripped away over the weekend as documents released Friday evening show that he was more involved in the firings of eight U.S. attorneys than he previously admitted. It was another in a long series of contradictions, withheld facts and backtracking by the Department of Justice that have caused the situation to explode into full-blown scandal, but is, to date, the first contradictory statement made by the attorney general himself. Gonzales said during a March 13 news conference, in explaining that he had only a limited role in the firings, that he “never saw documents (related to the firing of the attorneys.) We never had a discussion about where things stood.” But documents reveal that he attended an hour-long meeting on Nov. 27, 2006, days before the firings, at which he approved the department’s plan for executing the firings. The department quickly tried to spin the situation by saying there’s no evidence Gonzales discussed who was being fired, but only that he talked about how it would be done. Continue Reading