House ethics panel talking to Iglesias

31 Jul 2007 // Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias of Albuquerque will be interviewed by the staff of the House Ethics Committee on July 31, the first sign that the committee might actually consider whether Rep. Heather Wilson violated House ethics rules by calling Iglesias about a pending investigation.

Wilson, an Albuquerque Republican, has not been notified of any investigation and has not hired an attorney, according to her press spokesman, Joel Hannahs. That would indicate that the Ethics Committee has not appointed a panel of members to sit as an investigating subcommittee, the first step in any formal investigation.

Iglesias said he was told he would be interviewed by the committee's chairwoman, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, an Ohio Democrat, and its ranking Republican, Doc Hastings of Washington.

Wilson and Sen. Pete Domenici, also an Albuquerque Republican, each called Iglesias in October to ask about a pending investigation of courthouse construction contracts that involved former Democratic state Sen. Manny Aragon.

Iglesias, who was fired Dec. 7, has testified that Domenici asked him whether indictments would be issued soon and that Wilson asked him for there were any "sealed" indictments. Both calls were placed before the Nov. 7 election, in which Wilson faced a strong challenge from Democrat Patricia Madrid.

Domenici has said the phone call was a mistake, but Wilson has said she was making a legitimate inquiry in response to concerns she had heard about the pace of the investigation.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group, filed a complaint against Domenici, which the Senate Ethics Committee was required by Senate rules to begin investigating.

But the group could only ask the House Ethics Committee to investigate Wilson or wait for a House member to forward the complaint. That hasn't happened.

Melanie Sloan, CREW's executive director, said she wasn't impressed that the House Ethics Committee staff is only now getting around to interviewing Iglesias. And it doesn't mean the committee will actually do anything, she added.

"It's certainly taken them long enough," said Sloan. "I haven't seen anything to indicate they're going to do anything serious here."

She noted that Hastings, the ranking Republican on the committee, also is embroiled in the fired U.S. attorneys controversy. One of his staff members called a U.S. attorney about an investigation into alleged voter fraud. That U.S. attorney, John McKay, also was fired after he brought no indictment in the case.

The staff director for the Ethics Committee, William O'Reilly, had no comment.