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Ex-AG aide apologizes for list of U.S. attorneys to be fired

By James W. Brosnan
Friday, March 30, 2007

For David Iglesias, the former U.S. attorney whose handling of the Metro Courthouse investigation was called into question before his firing, a congressional hearing didn't provide quite the written apology and retraction he's seeking from his former boss.

But on Thursday, he at least got to hear that the "keeper of the list" of fired prosecutors at the Justice Department is sorry he even had a list.

"In hindsight, I wish the department hadn't gone down this road at all. And I regret my role in it. And that's one of the reasons I resigned," Kyle Sampson, former chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said as he concluded nearly six hours of testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Iglesias told The Tribune he appreciates Sampson's apology but said the testimony proves the firings of the U.S. attorneys were not related to performance, as Gonzales and McNulty told Congress earlier.

"I've been saying all along this was political," said Iglesias.

Sampson did not confirm the charge by Iglesias that his dismissal was triggered because he wouldn't rush the indictment of former state Sen. Manny Aragon, which came down Thursday.

In previous testimony, Iglesias said he felt pressured by phone calls from Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson, both Albuquerque Republicans, inquiring about the case in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 7 election.

Sampson said he "was not aware of any concerns about a particular case in New Mexico. Nor to my knowledge was any U.S. attorney asked to resign for an improper reason."

Sampson said he recalled hearing separate complaints about Iglesias' performance from two senior Justice Department officials, Bill Mercer and David Margolis, but conceded under questioning that neither complaint resulted in Iglesias' being added to the first list of U.S. attorneys to be fired.

Sampson's testimony revealed that Gonzales, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and Domenici were involved in the process that led to dismissing Iglesias on Dec. 7.

According to Sampson:

Rove complained to Gonzales about the failure to prosecute voter fraud in New Mexico and two other states in the 2004 election. Gonzales told Sampson of Rove's displeasure.

Domenici had called Gonzales three times to complain about Iglesias and called Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty once.

Iglesias was one of four "close calls" added last October to the original list of seven U.S. attorneys considered for firings. The other three were removed, but Iglesias was not, Sampson told the committee, because McNulty said, "Senator Domenici won't mind if he stays on the list. Senator Domenici's dissatisfied with him."

Nor did Sampson check out the complaints against the U.S. attorneys, call them or document their performance, he told the committee.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, defended the firings, saying, "There is no evidence regarding interfering with any case - not one shred of evidence."

But Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, said he concluded, "Iglesias began as one of our finest, was considered for promotions, was selected to train others in election fraud, had one of the best border records, and yet was fired for not doing a good enough job, all of a sudden, between October and November of 2006, on facts that were never checked on."

Sen. Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, said the hearing raised yet more questions for Gonzales when the embattled attorney general testifies before the committee April 17, and said it increases the pressure on Rove to testify.

One thing Thursday's testimony did not reveal is the impact of the complaints of influential New Mexico Republicans Mickey Barnett and Pat Rogers. The Justice Department official they met with last year, Monica Goodling, has refused to testify, citing her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself.