By Tim Korte, Associated Press, March 15, 2007
15 Mar 2007 // Two New Mexico lawyers with strong ties to the state Republican Party met last summer with a top aide to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and complained about then-U.S. Attorney David Iglesias.
Mickey Barnett on Wednesday confirmed he and fellow Albuquerque attorney Pat Rogers met June 21 with Monica Goodling, Gonzales' senior counsel in Washington, D.C., to vent frustrations about a New Mexico voter fraud investigation.
"I just wanted to speak to them about that because the U.S. attorney in Denver had prosecuted a similar case. I'd already met two times with the FBI about voter registration fraud," said Barnett, a former state senator and ex-GOP national committee member.
The disclosure, in e-mails released this week by the Justice Department, comes amid fallout following the agency's firing, in concert with White House political operatives, of Iglesias and seven other former U.S. attorneys.
Iglesias maintains he received strong performance reviews and was dismissed over politics.
Rogers, who has represented the New Mexico GOP in legal matters for several years, didn't immediately return telephone messages seeking comment. Rogers was among the names that Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., submitted to President Bush for consideration as Iglesias' successor.
In another development, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., asked President Bush to explain the firings. In the New Mexico case, he questioned why a March 2, 2006, e-mail recommended Iglesias for retention based on job performance and "loyalty" to the Bush administration.
Schumer noted Iglesias wasn't listed in an Oct. 17 e-mail that provided names of prosecutors the administration "should consider pushing out," according to the e-mail. Yet on Nov. 15, his name was listed for dismissal.
"When and why did U.S. Attorney David Iglesias become a target for removal? Was President Bush involved in that decision?" Schumer asked in a news release.
Iglesias resigned Dec. 7 and months later blamed political influences for his removal. He said he felt pressured by telephone calls last October from Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., in the weeks before Wilson narrowly won re-election.
Iglesias told Congress last week that both lawmakers had asked him about an investigation into courthouse construction in Albuquerque. The case reportedly targets prominent Democrats in an alleged bid-rigging scheme.
Barnett, who once worked for Domenici, said he and Rogers complained to Goodling during their meeting about Iglesias' failure to return indictments in a 2004 voter registration case despite a nearly two-year investigation.
"Twenty months, no indictment," Barnett said.
The Justice Department e-mails showed Barnett's request for a meeting involved "sensitive issues." Deputy White House political director Scott Jennings asked Goodling if someone at the agency he suggested three high-ranking officials could see the New Mexico visitors.
"It is sensitive -- perhaps you should do it," Jennings wrote on June 20.
"Happy to do so. Thanks," Goodling answered.
A copy of Goodling's daily calendar, included with the released e-mails, shows she met with Barnett and Rogers the next day.
State GOP chairman Allen Weh has said he complained in 2005 about Iglesias to a White House liaison who worked for presidential adviser Karl Rove, asking that Iglesias be removed.
Weh also asked Rove about it late last year during a White House holiday event. Weh said Rove had "little or nothing" to do with the firing, and that he talked to Rove after Iglesias already had been removed.