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<DIV class=timestamp>March 21, 2007</DIV>
<DIV class=kicker><NYT_KICKER>Op-Ed Contributor</NYT_KICKER></DIV>
<H1><NYT_HEADLINE type=" " version="1.0">Why I Was Fired
</NYT_HEADLINE></H1><NYT_BYLINE type=" " version="1.0"></NYT_BYLINE>
<DIV class=byline>By DAVID C. IGLESIAS</DIV><NYT_TEXT></NYT_TEXT>
<DIV id=articleBody>
<P>Albuquerque</P>
<P>WITH this week’s release of more than 3,000 Justice Department e-mail
messages about the dismissal of eight federal prosecutors, it seems clear that
politics played a role in the ousters. </P>
<P>Of course, as one of the eight, I’ve felt this way for some time. But now
that the record is out there in black and white for the rest of the country to
see, the argument that we were fired for “performance related” reasons (in the
words of Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty) is starting to look more than a
little wobbly. </P>
<P>United States attorneys have a long history of being insulated from politics.
Although we receive our appointments through the political process (I am a
Republican who was recommended by Senator Pete Domenici), we are expected to be
apolitical once we are in office. I will never forget John Ashcroft, then the
attorney general, telling me during the summer of 2001 that politics should play
no role during my tenure. I took that message to heart. Little did I know that I
could be fired for <SPAN class=italic>not</SPAN> being political. </P>
<P>Politics entered my life with two phone calls that I received last fall, just
before the November election. One came from Representative Heather Wilson and
the other from Senator Domenici, both Republicans from my state, New Mexico.
</P>
<P>Ms. Wilson asked me about sealed indictments pertaining to a politically
charged corruption case widely reported in the news media involving local
Democrats. Her question instantly put me on guard. Prosecutors may not legally
talk about indictments, so I was evasive. Shortly after speaking to Ms. Wilson,
I received a call from Senator Domenici at my home. The senator wanted to know
whether I was going to file corruption charges — the cases Ms. Wilson had been
asking about — before November. When I told him that I didn’t think so, he said,
“I am very sorry to hear that,” and the line went dead. </P>
<P>A few weeks after those phone calls, my name was added to a list of United
States attorneys who would be asked to resign — even though I had excellent
office evaluations, the biggest political corruption prosecutions in New Mexico
history, a record number of overall prosecutions and a 95 percent conviction
rate. (In one of the documents released this week, I was deemed a “diverse up
and comer” in 2004. Two years later I was asked to resign with no reasons
given.)</P>
<P>When some of my fired colleagues — Daniel Bogden of Las Vegas; Paul Charlton
of Phoenix; H. E. Cummins III of Little Rock, Ark.; Carol Lam of San Diego; and
John McKay of Seattle — and I testified before Congress on March 6, a disturbing
pattern began to emerge. Not only had we not been insulated from politics, we
had apparently been singled out for political reasons. (Among the Justice
Department’s released documents is one describing the office of Senator Domenici
as being “happy as a clam” that I was fired.)</P>
<P>As this story has unfolded these last few weeks, much has been made of my
decision to not prosecute alleged voter fraud in New Mexico. Without the benefit
of reviewing evidence gleaned from F.B.I. investigative reports, party officials
in my state have said that I should have begun a prosecution. What the critics,
who don’t have any experience as prosecutors, have asserted is reprehensible —
namely that I should have proceeded without having proof beyond a reasonable
doubt. The public has a right to believe that prosecution decisions are made on
legal, not political, grounds. </P>
<P>What’s more, their narrative has largely ignored that I was one of just two
United States attorneys in the country to create a voter-fraud task force in
2004. Mine was bipartisan, and it included state and local law enforcement and
election officials. </P>
<P>After reviewing more than 100 complaints of voter fraud, I felt there was one
possible case that should be prosecuted federally. I worked with the F.B.I. and
the Justice Department’s public integrity section. As much as I wanted to
prosecute the case, I could not overcome evidentiary problems. The Justice
Department and the F.B.I. did not disagree with my decision in the end not to
prosecute. </P>
<P>Good has already come from this scandal. Yesterday, the Senate voted to
overturn a 2006 provision in the Patriot Act that allows the attorney general to
appoint indefinite interim United States attorneys. The attorney general’s chief
of staff has resigned and been replaced by a respected career federal
prosecutor, Chuck Rosenberg. The president and attorney general have admitted
that “mistakes were made,” and Mr. Domenici and Ms. Wilson have publicly
acknowledged calling me.</P>
<P>President Bush addressed this scandal yesterday. I appreciate his gratitude
for my service — this marks the first time I have been thanked. But only a
written retraction by the Justice Department setting the record straight
regarding my performance would settle the issue for
me.</P><NYT_AUTHOR_ID></NYT_AUTHOR_ID>
<P id=authorId></P>
<P id=authorId>David C. Iglesias was United States attorney for the District of
New Mexico from October 2001 through last month. </P></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>