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Bush, Gonzales talked of gripes on Iglesias
Adviser cites Vigil trial as a reason for dismissal
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WASHINGTON — White House officials are now conceding that complaints by top New Mexico Republicans about then-U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, including his refusal to pursue voter fraud charges in 2004 and his handling of corruption cases, played a part in his dismissal.
In the meantime, President Bush today said he isn't happy with how the Justice Department explained the dismissals of Iglesias and seven other U.S. attorneys to Congress, but said he stands by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales amid cries for Gonzales' resignation.
Dan Bartlett, counselor to the president, told reporters traveling with Bush in Mexico on Tuesday that the White House had received complaints about U.S. attorneys' handling of election fraud cases in New Mexico, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, and Bush had a brief conversation with Gonzales about the complaints in October.
"There was no directive given, as far as telling him (Gonzales) to fire anybody or anything like that," Bartlett said.
October was also when Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson, Albuquerque Republicans, called Iglesias about an ongoing Albuquerque corruption case involving New Mexico Democrats.
By then, Domenici and state Republican Party Chairman Allan Weh, lobbyist Mickey Barnett and Albuquerque lawyer Pat Rogers all had lodged complaints about Iglesias with White House or Justice Department officials.
On Tuesday, Bartlett for the first time cited Iglesias' prosecution of former state Treasurer Robert Vigil on extortion charges as one of the reasons for his dismissal.
Bartlett said Justice officials "took into consideration the complaints they were fielding from local officials about the lack of prosecution of cases, and the fact that he had lost a high-profile case, when I think 24 or 25 counts were thrown out by a jury against the government. It was a devastating loss for the government."
After Vigil's initial trial ended in a hung jury, he was later convicted on a single count of attempted extortion but acquitted on 23 other charges.
Asked why Iglesias was dismissed after receiving a positive job evaluation in 2005, Bartlett responded: "Well, he was fired two years later than 2005, and there was a series of issues that they (Justice officials) looked at. They looked at his managerial responsibilities, and . . . they felt that he was not managing the office as well as it should be."
Iglesias served on a key immigration subcommittee, Bartlett said, "and they felt like he didn't possess leadership skills there and fulfill that job in a way that he should have."
Bartlett said the final decisions on whom to fire were left up to the Justice Department.
Bartlett said that in Bush's conversation with Gonzales, the president specifically mentioned problems with U.S. attorneys and voter fraud cases in New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, but "he did not mention any prosecutor by name."
Gonzales said this morning on NBC's "Today" show that it's up to Bush whether he remains in the administration, but said he wants to stay and explain to Congress the circumstances surrounding the firings of the eight U.S. attorneys.
Bush told reporters today in Mexico that he is troubled by the Justice Department's misleading explanations to Congress of why it fired the eight and expected his attorney general to fix them, but stood by Gonzales.
Bush said he did receive complaints about U.S. attorneys and recalled a congressional visit when senators "were talking about U.S. attorneys." He said he did not remember any specific names of prosecutors mentioned.
"But I never brought up a specific case or gave him specific instructions," Bush said, referring to Gonzales. "What Al did and what the Justice Department did was appropriate. . . . What was mishandled was the explanation of the cases to the Congress."
