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Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias said today he believes he was fired because he refused to rush an indictment of local New Mexico Democrats a month before November's Congressional elections, McClatchy Newspapers reported.

In this report from McClatchy's Washington bureau , Iglesias also claimed that two members of Congress contacted him in the weeks prior to the 2006 election to ask about an ongoing investigation of a kickback scheme, appearing eager to see an indictment just before the elections.

Corruption charges against two previous New Mexico state treasurers - both Democrats - were prominent issues during the election, and further charges could have helped the Republicans.

Iglesias refused to name the members of Congress in the report because he feared retaliation, and refused comment when asked about the statement by the Associated Press.

"I've got nothing further to say about that," he said.

Iglesias' statements caused an eruption on the Senate floor today and are likely to lead to his being called to testify by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"This is serious stuff," said Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, of the allegations of political interference in the corruption probe.

Iglesias is one of seven U. S. attorneys fired in December. Justice Department officials have insisted they were fired over performance issues, but Democrats noted that one of those fired was the California prosecutor who brought in the conviction of former Republican Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham of California.

Iglesias officially stepped down today. In a news conference today in Albuquerque, he said he had received favorable evaluations and that job performance could not be the real reason behind his ouster.

Iglesias has not been a central figure in the controversy until his comments to McClatchy today.

Sen. Diane Feinstein, California Democrat, cited the Iglesias story today in proposing an amendment to a homeland security bill that would limit the ability of the president to replace U.S. attorneys with interim appointees. The amendment would still allow the president to fire U.S. attorneys but no interim appointee could serve more than 120 days. In effect, that would force the president to send the name of a permanent nominee to the Senate for confirmation.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island Democrat and a former U.S. attorney, also came to the floor to comment on the Iglesias story, saying "the proper administration of Justice may have been undermined."