Big Oil Wants Their Gal Heather Wilson Back In The NM-01 Congressional Race-- Will Darren White Step Aside?

Today when I was going over the Freedom's Watch targeting I saw that one of the Blue America candidates they are going after with their vicious campaign of lies is environmental innovator and former Albuquerque City Council President Martin Heinrich. The malicious and wildly distorted attack on Martin comes as the GOP tries easing his hapless opponent, extreme right wing Bush supporter, Darren White, out of the race to make way for Heather Wilson, a notorious Big Oil shill. Wilson is the incumbent and she just lost her Senate primary to far right nut-job and oil industry former exec Steve Pearce. She wants to run for "her" House seat again and GOP officials, seeing White's pathetic campaign so far, would like to push him out of the race.

White may even be cooperating. He claims to have fallen off his treadmill hurting his back badly enough to keep him off the campaign trail for "a few weeks." Wilson has been acting as a campaign surrogate for her pal McCain, running hither and thither and screaming about Obama not being experienced or "sophisticated" enough. Big Oil will spend whatever they can muster to distort Martin's responsible, environmental record and try to make it look like he's somehow responsible for decades of GOP politicians carrying water for Big Oil. Heather Wilson has taken $531,820 from Big Oil and has rubber stamped every single piece of legislation they have ever wanted. Their policies have led directly to high prices at the pump, no matter how Freedom's Watch and other Republican front organizations try to shift blame to progressive Democrats. The irony of this attack is that Martin is known in Albuquerque as a leader in trying to develop alternative sources of energy. Big Oil has already focused in on Darren White as a budding shill for their policies and has dumped over $13,000 into his campaign so far.

Now they're waiting to see if he actually runs or drops out before sending more money to him or to Wilson. In either case, Martin's going to need all the help he can get. Please take a look at his live blog session from March at Firedoglake and consider contributing to his campaign so he can defend himself from these Freedom's Watch slams.

Listen to the GOP/Freedom's Watch Attack ad against Martin:

DAVID IGLESIAS ISN'T SAYING WHO HE'S VOTING FOR, BUT HE'S CLEAR WHO HE ISN'T VOTING FOR: CROOKED REPUBLICANS HEATHER WILSON AND DARREN WHITE

Thursday we posted a startling video of fired U.S. Attorney David Iglesias discussing Bush Regime interference in the Justice Department and how hack Republican politicians like Darren White "put loyalty to their party at a higher level than their loyalty to the Constitution." Iglesias still considers himself a Republican-- "a disillusioned Republican," in his words. He's featured in a Q&A today's NY Times Magazine

Republican or not, one gets the impression from the interview that he'll be voting for Barack Obama for president and, certainly from the video, for Martin Heinrich for Congress. Deborah Solomon:

Q: In 2001, you were tapped by President Bush for your dream job-- U.S. attorney for New Mexico-- only to end up as one of the eight federal prosecutors whose firing five years later set off an outcry. With your book "In Justice" about to come out, have you heard anything from President Bush? No, not even a little note of thanks. If somebody served honorably, you at least have your staff member send a form letter or something: thanks for your service.

Are you still a Republican? Yes, a disillusioned Republican. I can't blame the Democrats for this mess. It was fellow conservatives, people who thought and acted and dressed like me, who threw away their moral compass.

Just last month, the Senate Ethics Committee officially admonished Pete Domenici, the longtime New Mexico senator, for making an improper phone call to you. I thought their public rebuke was a roughly fair result.

He pressured you into indicting Democrats before the 2006 election? He attempted to get me to hurry, and he was unsuccessful. He called me at home on a weekend and asked me for some very sensitive information, which was: Is this going to get filed before November?

After serving as senator for 36 years, he has said he won't be seeking re-election this year because of his health, in particular degenerative brain disease. He would have found a way to work around his illness. I think he's stepping down in part because his legacy was tarnished.

And Heather Wilson, the U.S. congresswoman who also called you about that same case, is now running for his Senate seat. Do you think she can win? No. She's damaged goods.

Why is Domenici so loyal to her? She is his protégée.

But so are you. I was. I'm the fallen protégé.

The primary for the U.S. Senate seat in New Mexico is coming up on June 3. Whom will you vote for? I'll tell you who I am not voting for. I am not voting for Heather Wilson.

What makes all of this so startling is that you're practically a poster boy for a new kind of Karl Rove-style Republican. I'm a military veteran, I'm Hispanic and I'm an evangelical Christian. Those are three enormous pillars of the Republican base.

This week we're going to have Martin back for a chat-- this time over at Crooks & Liars-- while his opponent, the same Darren White who David Iglesias accuses of putting the GOP before the Constitution, hosts George Bush at a fundraiser in Albuquerque. White is one of Bush's posterboys for pushing warrantless wiretaps and retroactive immunity. Fellow-Republican Iglesias tells us he doesn't care about the Constitution. Is it an enormous jump to imagine Darren White going along with-- leading the charge for-- a police state?

Martin has made FISA and the defeat of Bush's unconstitutional powergrab an important aspect of his campaign. His election is one of the highest priorities for progressives in 2008. Take a look at his latest campaign ad, running on TV in New Mexico now, and please think about donating to his campaign (but only if you believe in the rule of law). Donate here.

CONGRESS SUBPOENAS KARL ROVE!

Yesterday I watched a video of former U.S. Attorney, David Iglesias, a Republican, speaking about GOP election fraud. He was targeted by Senator Pete Domenici, Rep. Heather Wilson, and lame congressional wannabe Darren White and then ordered fired by Karl Rove, an order ex-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was happy to carry out. It was one of many orders Happy Alberto carried out in a purge of honest men from the Justice Department. If someone works in the upper echelons of the Justice Department today, it is because they were willing to pervert and subvert Justice at the behest of criminals like Rove and Cheney. Take a look at the video:



David Iglesias: "I've been very disappointed in Darren [White]. He doesn't understand his duties as a Sheriff. He put, and, this is what I'm very critical of Gonzales (as well), they put loyalty to their party at a higher level than their loyalty to the Constitution. Darren did the same thing."

And Iglesias was far from the only example of how Rove and the Bush Regime wrecked the American Justice system for their own purposes. Ken and I have been writing a lot about former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, who was also targeted for political extinction by Rove-- and then dragged off and imprisoned. Today we are one small step closer to restoring the rule of law in our country with the subpoena served on Karl Rove by the House Judiciary Committee. Chairman John Conyers:

“It is unfortunate that Mr. Rove has failed to cooperate with our requests. Although he does not seem the least bit hesitant to discuss these very issues weekly on cable television and in the print news media, Mr. Rove and his attorney have apparently concluded that a public hearing room would not be appropriate. Unfortunately, I have no choice today but to compel his testimony on these very important matters.”

Here's the full text of Conyers letter to Robert Luskin, Rove's attorney:

Mr. Robert D. Luskin
Patton Boggs LLP
2550 M Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20037-1350

Dear Mr. Luskin:

We were disappointed to receive your May 21 letter, which fails to explain why Mr. Rove is willing to answer questions in writing for the House Judiciary Committee, and has spoken on the record to the media, but continues to refuse to testify voluntarily before the Committee on the politicization of the Department of Justice, including allegations regarding the prosecution of former Governor Don Siegelman. Because of that continuing refusal, we enclose with this letter a subpoena for Mr. Rove's appearance before the Committee's Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee at 10:00 a.m. on July 10, 2008.

In light of specific statements in your letter, we want to clarify several points. Your letter is incorrect in suggesting that the enclosed subpoena will raise the same issues as the Senate Judiciary Committee's subpoena to Mr. Rove and the pending lawsuit concerning our Committee's subpoena to Harriet Miers. Both these matters focus on the firing of U.S. Attorneys in 2006 and efforts to mislead Congress and the public on that subject. Here, as we have made clear from the outset, the Siegelman case is a principal focus of our request for Mr. Rove to testify. In addition, unlike Harriet Miers, Mr. Rove has made a number of on-the-record comments to the media about the Siegelman case and the U.S. Attorney firings, extending far beyond "general denials of wrongdoing." There is no question that both the prior subpoenas to Mr. Rove and Ms. Miers should have been complied with. But it is even more clear that Mr. Rove should testify as we have now directed.

We would also dispute your contention that we are "provoking a gratuitous confrontation while the issues raised by the Committee's request are being litigated in U.S. District Court or why the Committee refuses to consider a reasonable accommodation." There are a variety of mechanisms for resolution of any dispute between us, and we need not wait for resolution of separate and ongoing litigation to attempt to employ or consider those other mechanisms. We have also previously noted that we do not believe your proposal to respond in writing to written questions is reasonable or consistent with the precedents of this Committee.

Your letter also suggests that Mr. Rove is not a "free agent" and would follow the requests of the White House with respect to his testimony. Particularly in light of the factors discussed above, we hope that the White House will not take the position that Mr. Rove should not testify. Other former White House officials, including Sara Taylor and Scott Jennings who worked with Mr. Rove in the White House's political office, have in fact testified in response to congressional subpoenas, and dealt with questions of privilege on a question-by-question basis. Mr. Rove should follow the same course.

We should make clear, however, that Mr. Rove, as a private party not employed by the government, is himself responsible for the decision on how to respond to the enclosed subpoena, which is a legally binding directive that he appear before the Committee on July 10. In an analogous situation in the 1970s, when the White House attempted to instruct a private party, AT&T, not to comply with a House Subcommittee subpoena, AT&T "felt obligated to disregard those instructions and to comply with the subpoena," resulting in a lawsuit by the Administration seeking to enjoin such compliance.1 We very much hope that will not be necessary in this case, but we also hope that you will understand that Mr. Rove's obligation, as a private party, is to seek to comply with the enclosed subpoena. Indeed, you appeared to recognize this yourself when you responded to an earlier media inquiry as to whether Mr. Rove would comply with such a subpoena by e-mailing "sure."

Finally, we want to make clear that we are very willing to meet with you and your client to discuss this matter. Please direct any questions or communications to the Judiciary Committee office, 2138 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 (tel: 202-225-3951; fax: 202-225-7680).

Sincerely,

John Conyers, Jr.
Chairman

SENATE ETHICS COMMITTEE TO DOMENICI: "NAUGHTY, NAUGHTY"-- SO CAN HE RUN FOR PRESIDENT NOW?

Pete "Sneaky Pete" Domenici (R-NM) is well liked in the Senate-- on both sides of the aisle. That he outrageously breached Senate ethics by threatening-- and then following through on his threat-- U.S. Attorney David Iglesias' job in an attempt to get him to bring some politically-motivated indictments against Democrats, hasn't gotten many senators riled up enough to do anything to discipline him in any meaningful way. The Ethics Committee admonished him today, totally meaningless, especially for someone who is retiring.

Even if he weren't retiring it wouldn't mean much. When McCain was caught taking massive bribes for special favors from corrupt banker-- and close family friend-- Charles Keating, all the Senate did was "admonish" him. Now many Republicans are backing this corrupt turd in his lifelong goal to capture the presidency. Like in McCain's case, the pathetic and irrelevant Ethics committee did its best to soften the blow on the doddering Domenici, claiming it found "no 'substantial evidence' that Mr. Domenici 'attempted to improperly influence an ongoing investigation.'” Did it look? And wasn't he actually trying to do something else anyway-- get his execrable political protege, Heather Wilson, re-elected?

Wilson is running for Domenici's Senate seat now, though she isn't expected to win. The House Ethics Committee, every bit as much of a joke as the Senate Ethics Committee, hasn't hauled Wilson's ass in to answer questions about her role in the firing of Iglesias.


UPDATE: CREW ISN'T SATISFIED WITH SENATE'S DERELICTION OF DUTY

After reminding us that when Domenici was first asked about why he made the call, he denied everything, CREW issued a statement by Executive Director Melanie Sloan:

"The ethics committee may have been unable to wholeheartedly condemn Senator Domenici's conduct, but we have no such compunction. The committee's effort to minimize its reprimand of Senator Domenici itself reflects poorly on the Senate. Little is more destructive to our democracy than an attempt to use political power to influence a criminal investigation and it should be distressing to all Americans that the Senate Ethics Committee does not appear to share that view."

Congress again proves that it is fundamentally incapable of making or enforcing rules to regulate its own behavior. 

GOP DEMANDS DEMOCRATS GIVE BACK THE MONEY SPITZER DONATED... LET'S LOOK AT VITTER'S, DOOLITTLE'S, STEVENS' AND SOME OTHER REPUBLICROOKS' CONTRIBUTIONS

Kirsten Gillibrand, not Heather Wilson or Susan Collins

I was skimming CongressDaily last this afternoon and I noticed a small article about Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and how she donated the two grand Eliot Spitzer had contributed to her re-election campaign to Catholic Charities of Saratoga, Warren and Washington Counties. Whatever. But then I saw something that interested me. "The Republican National Congressional Committee called on several New York Democrats, including Gillibrand, to return campaign contributions from Spitzer, who was linked by prosecutors to a prostitution ring this week."

I decided to do a little snooping around and see how many Republicans had returned the PAC money donated to their campaigns from some of the more notorious Republican crooks and perverts. Larry's Craig pleaded guilty after trying to have sex with a policeman in a public toilet and his appeal was rejected. His PAC is obviously a subterfuge for high living and of the $105,000 he collected in the current cycle, most of it went to catering ($65,472) and "consultants" ($41,617). But he did contribute $2,500 each to Susan Collins (R-ME), Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Pete Domenici (R-NM), none of whom returned a cent.

OK, what about David Vitter's Louisiana Diaper Boy PAC? (Just kidding; his personal slush fund that spends almost all its income on dinners and Saints tickers is called the Louisiana Reform PAC.) Remember, Vitter admitted to the same crime as Spitzer, employing a prostitute. But neither Mitch McConnell (R-KY) nor Bobby Jindal (R-LA) returned the money. That's especially odd because McConnell did return the contribution from another crooked Republican, Ted Stevens (R-AK). Stevens' Northern Lights PAC collected almost a quarter million dollars so far this cycle and he's been giving out big chunks to his colleagues. Several returned the tainted money (McConnell, Robert Bennett and Orrin Hatch. But most Republicans didn't return a cent. Stevens' home and office were raided by the FBI and he has been named in open court as the man behind the biggest corruption scandal in the history of Alaska. But John Sununu (R-NH) is holding on to his $7,500 and Gordon Smith (R-OR) is holding onto his $10,000 and Pat Roberts (R-KS) is holding on to his $5,000, and James Inhofe (R-OK) is holding on to his $4,000 and Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) isn't giving up her $10,000 nor is John Cornyn giving back the $5,000 he got. And vulnerable Republican rubber stamps Susan Collins, Saxby Chambliss and Norm Coleman each got $10,000 of Stevens' dirty money-- and they're keeping it.

California Congressman John Doolittle was also visited by the FBI and, in all probability, going to prison for a good long stay-- or until Bush pardons him. He too had a Political Action Committee that was handing out money to other Republican members of Congress, much of it to losers like Rick Santorum, Tom DeLay, and Katherine Harris. But dozens of sitting congressmen are happily sitting on some of the ill-gotten money Doolittle spread around-- over $258,000 in the last cycle. Some of the Republicans who didn't return money they got from Doolittle: Heather Wilson (R-NM), Thelma Drake (R-VA), Tim Walberg (R-MI), Michele Bachmann (R-MN), Tom Reynolds (R-NY), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Brian Bilbray (R-CA), Charlie Dent (R-PA), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Robin Hayes (R-NC), Mean Jean Schmidt (R-OH), Dave Reichert (R-WA), Adrain Smith (R-NE), Jon Porter (R-NV), Vito Fossella (R-NY), Dan Lungren (R-CA), Jim Gerlach (R-PA), Randy Kuhl (R-NY), and loads of others.

I know it's going out on a limb to say this, but my guess is that the single most corrupt man in the House is Jerry Lewis (R-CA). He has spent well over $1,000,000 in legal fees to one of the top Republican-connected law firms in the U.S. in order to keep from being indicted. He's still a money machine and has been handing out huge amounts of it to his grateful colleagues who are well aware of how he gets it. Among the Republican hypocrites happy to take money from Lewis this year have been Rudy Giuliani, Heather Wilson, Dave Reichert, Jon Porter, Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), Robin Hayes, Sam Graves (R-MO), Jim Gerlach (R-PA), Steve Chabot (R-OH)... and that just scratches the surface.

But Kirsten Gillibrand gave two thousand dollars to the nuns in upstate New York.

DAVID IGLESIAS BOOK LIKELY TO RUIN HEATHER WILSON'S SLIM CHANCE TO REMAIN IN POLITICS

Come on, Pete, tell us who put you up to it

Pete Domenici, wisely, is following the advice of friends, family and medical practitioners and retiring from the Senate before he further disgraces himself and his state. His protégé, Rep. Heather Wilson, on whose behalf he illegally harrassed and threatened U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, is not only unwilling to go voluntarily, she is seeking to move up from the House to the Senate. Heather Wilson fully intends to allow Domenici to take the fall but she participated in the outrageous interference with the U.S. Attorney's office and the political firing of one of New Mexico's brightest Republican stars, David Iglesias. Wilson is damaged goods-- very damaged. And a new book by Iglesias In Justice is not likely to help her longshot bid to hold the New Mexico seat for theGOP.

Today the McClatchy papers broke a story about a longtime Bush crony, Johnny Sutton (a Texas U.S. Attorney and Karl Rove lackey) telling Iglesias he was fired for political reasons and he should just "go quietly" and not fight it. This isn't likely to go away soon, although, no doubt, the Regime is eager to ardon everyone involved with this and every other scandal reminding voters that the GOP has been, first and foremost, a criminal conspiracy.

"This is political," Iglesias recalls Texas U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton telling him shortly after he was ousted. "If I were you, I'd just go quietly."

Iglesias, a former U.S. attorney in New Mexico, is one of nine federal prosecutors-- including Seattle's John McKay-- whose firings triggered a yearlong controversy at the Justice Department and led to the resignations of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and 11 other Justice Department officials.

Iglesias cites the exchange with Sutton in his upcoming book, "In Justice," as further evidence that he was forced out because Republicans were displeased with his refusal to prosecute Democrats.

"I couldn't believe what I was hearing: a U.S. attorney all but admitting that a colleague was being hung out to dry for reasons that had nothing to do with performance or professionalism," he wrote in a draft of the book, which McClatchy obtained.

Sutton, who's the top U.S. attorney in San Antonio, didn't return phone calls Thursday seeking comment.

Justice Department officials said they couldn't comment on Iglesias's account because of a continuing investigation of the firings by the department's inspector general and the Office of Professional Responsibility.

And this isn't the only scandal dogging Wilson. There's a dirty little vote buying scandal in Bernalillo County that Wilson is trying hard not to deal with now. And then there's the best reason at all not to vote for her: her voting record. Even as she desperately tries to move up the political ladder she is still voting the selfish interests of the lobbyists and campaign donors instead of ordinary New Mexico families. Earlier this week she was one of the minority of radical right Republicans who refused to back the bipartisan Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act. The man she hopes to run against for the New Mexico U.S. Senate seat, Tom Udall, voted for the bill, as did all the moderate congressmembers on both sides of the aisle.

TRUE BLUE NEW MEXICO

We're very lucky to be able to welcome a guest blogger to DWT this evening, Barbara Wold, one of the most effective and sensible voices in New Mexico progressive politics. Like so many of us, she came to be reinvolved with politics via the Howard Dean campaign. Now she blogs at Democracy for New Mexico and helps coordinate a monthly progressive Meetup in Albuquerque that's been active for about four years. She's also participates in local Dem Party politics, having been part of a successful "take our party back" effort that's resulted in dozens of progressives winning party offices including ward and precinct slots and seats on the County and State governing bodies.

It's an amazing situation this year in New Mexico politics. We have a chance to gain a U.S. Senate seat and two U.S. House seats, which would make our entire Congressional delegation blue. It's been a case of musical chairs ever since Sen. Pete Domenici announced his retirement late last year due to a brain disease, putting all three of our House seats and one of our Senate seats up for grabs in open contests.

With all of our state offices except Land Commissioner held by Dems, both houses of our legislature dominated by Dems and Bill Richardson as our Governor, we think a true blue New Mexico is a real possibility, which is why the local netroots has started an Act Blue fundraising page called just that:
True Blue New Mexico.


We've got excellent candidates in former Albuquerque City Councilor Martin Heinrich in NM-01, former Dona Ana Commissioner Bill McCamley down south in NM-03, and current NM-03 Rep. Tom Udall running for Senate. In NM-03 in Northern New Mexico, traditionally a Dem stronghold, we've got a bunch of progressive contenders including green builder Don Wiviott, NM Public Regulation Commission member Ben Ray Lujan and Jemez Pueblo member Benny Shendo -- so many we haven't been able to come to a consensus on who to support.

In NM-01, a Dem winner would replace faux-moderate Repub Heather Wilson. Heather edged out Dem Patricia Madrid last time out by fewer than 700 votes. The Repub contender this round is expected to be current Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White, who chaired the Bush campaign in the county in 2004. He's never had to run a competitive race, and New Mexico's voters have definitely soured on everything Bush. Dem Martin Heinrich was instrumental in passing a minimum wage raise for Albuquerque, and is a conservation and environmental champion. He's known as a top-notch negotiator who uses common sense and honesty to bring people together to solve problems. He's a progressive through and through.

In NM-02, where the Las Cruces City Council was recently repopulated with progressive Dems after a long stretch of Repub rule, McCamley's running a truly grassroots campaign. With a master's in public policy from Harvard, McCamley is smart, informed and infectiously passionate. While on the County Commission, he led the fight to replace down and dirty sprawl development with a common sense planning process -- an issue that's recently turned many a voter Dem in the district. Meanwhile, the Repub Party in those parts is in disarray, with many less than stellar Congressional candidates emerging to fight it out for a chance at the Repub slot. If we have a Dem winner in the district, they'd replace the truly awful hard-right ideologue Steve Pearce, who's abandoned his seat to battle Heather Wilson for the Repub Senate nomination.

In NM-03, we expect to hold onto Udall's seat given the high percentage of progressive Dems in the district that includes Santa Fe, Taos and rural Hispanic Dem strongholds. The only question is which Dem among many candidates will get the nod. That's why we set up True Blue New Mexico to reward whoever wins the Dem nomination there.

As for the Senate seat, Tom Udall's popular all over the state and very well respected by New Mexicans of all political stripes. A true gentleman and a member of the illustrious, conservation-championing Udall family of the West, he was encouraged to get into the Senate race by the grassroots and power Dems alike. In Congress, Udall voted against both the Iraq invasion and the Patriot Act, and he's been instrumental in helping us preserve many of New Mexico's beautiful and pristine landscapes. Nonetheless, a tough race against either Heather Wilson or Steve Pearce is expected this fall.

Why is the New Mexico netroots reaching out now for support?
First of all, we want top-notch, progressive candidates to get a head start on fundraising and garnering support. We want more Dems but we want good Dems, as the saying goes. And the GOP is already active in fundraising for their New Mexico cronies. Just yesterday, Karl Rove was in Artesia, NM raising money for the state Repub Party, the same day Dick Cheney was hosting a fundraiser for Senate candidate Steve Pearce in DC. Cheney previous held a similar event in Washington for Senate candidate Heather Wilson. It's evident that wingnut money machine will be heavily involved in trying to protect their seats here-- despite a big fall in support for all things Repub even in more moderate areas of the state.

Secondly, we wanted to reach out early both locally and within the national netroots community. New Mexico is economically challenged and sparsely populated in many areas of the state. Grassroots donations can be hard to come by given our rising cost of living and low salaries. In other words, we can use all the help we can get.

We hope you'll visit the True Blue New Mexico page at Act Blue and toss a few bucks into the collection basket. Even if you're not so inclined right now, we hope you'll keep the True Blue candidates in mind as election season moves forward, knowing that Blue America already has Martin, Bill and Tom on their radar. Our ActBlue page is an effort by local blogs including New Mexico FBIHOP and Democracy for New Mexico. Please visit our sites, poke around a bit and check out posts yesterday and the day before about this effort, as well as guest blogs by Martin Heinrich and Bill McCamley. We've just begun to fight.

-Barbara Wold

TOM UDALL JUMPS INTO NEW MEXICO SENATE RACE-- LOOKS LIKE A PICK UP FOR THE DEMOCRATS

With the political demise of New Mexico Republican Senator Pete "Sneaky Pete" Domenici-- caught up the Department of Justice firings scandal-- and his subsequent decision to retire, New Mexico's U.S. Senate seat was suddenly in play. The two Republican House members, Domenici protege Heather Wilson-- involved in the exact same Department of Justice scandal (in fact, the cause of it)-- and extreme right-wing loon Steve Pearce, immediately jumped into the race. A long cast of lackluster Democrats also started eyeing the race. Grassroots Democrats began a persistent effort to draft Tom Udall, by far New Mexico's best known-- a former two-term state attorney general and the son of beloved former Interior Secretary Stewart Udall-- and most popular congressman. He declined. Democrats persisted. Yesterday he agreed to run.

He will face Albuquerque's unpopular Mayor Martin Chavez in a June primary unless Chavez withdraws before then. Polling shows Udall will win the primary handily and go on to beat either tarnished Republican in November.

Tom Udall - 50%
Martin Chávez - 30%
Don Wiviott - 2%
Undecided - 17%

In match-ups against both Wilson and Pearce, Udall comes out on top. No other Democrat does.
Wilson (R) 45
Chavez (D) 42

Wilson (R) 38
Udall (D) 55

Pearce (R) 40
Chavez (D) 39

Pearce (R) 37
Udall (D) 54

DRAFT TOM UDALL

Perhaps you'll recall that a couple of weeks ago Alex Flores wrote a guest post about the grassroots movement to draft Rep. Tom Udall to run for the open New Mexico Senate seat being vacated by disgraced Republican Pete Domenici. There have been some developments since then and I asked Alex to catch us up a bit. His report:

Back around the beginning of October, an idea was hatched to draft Congressman Tom Udall to run for the US Senate from New Mexico. Since then, the netroots have raised over $1,100 for the Congressman by asking for donations of only $5!

Now we're changing strategies to send an even stronger message. Many supporters of the draft emailed in applauding the efforts to collect $5 donations but lamented that they would rather not contribute to the Congressman's account unless he's really committed.

DraftUdall.Com is taking a new approach. The online petition now has a new question: How Much Do You Pledge to Give Tom Udall's Senate Campaign?

Since we started this new plan four days ago, another $1,200 have been committed. We think that can increase a hundred fold! Please help out.

Four other Democrats are running for the seat, one well-known in Mayor Martin Chavez and three lesser-known Dems, Don Wiviott, Jim Hannan and Leland Lehrman.

Heath Haussamen, a New Mexico blogger, wrote a bit recently about Martin Chavez's problems with progressives:

Securing big-name supporters and financial contributions is an important step for Chávez's senatorial campaign, but he has another problem to overcome: Progressive Democrats, at least those in the Albuquerque area, aren't his biggest supporters.

That's an understatement. After candidates and referenda backed by Chávez, or at least his staffers, were defeated in the recent Albuquerque municipal election, the unique coalition of Republicans and progressive Democrats who made it happen literally celebrated together.

It's also apparent that going to position himself in the center for this race. Contrasting himself with the more experienced and more progressive Tom Udall, Haussamen writes:
He also said he is confident he would defeat Udall in a primary.

"Philosophically, he's so far to the left," Chávez said. "I'd rather not have him in the race, but that's a challenge I'd not shy away from."

Angry? Sign the Petition and tell Congressman Udall how much you'll pledge to a real progressive if he runs for the US Senate ($2,300 is the Federal campaign limit).

Tom Udall already said he wouldn't run for the seat, but Chavez is running scared of the draft effort, doubtless aware that Tom Udall is the most popular Democrat in the state who can still run for the Senate.

Remember those SurveyUSA numbers? When Steven Pearce is the Republican nominee, moderate Mayor Chavez loses and progressive Congressman Udall wins; the spread is 39 points! When Heather Wilson is the Republican nominee, moderate Mayor Chavez loses and progressive Congressman Udall wins; the spread between them in this race is 22 points!

Starting with Republican candidate Steven Pearce, Congressman from New Mexico's 2nd District:
* Pearce loses to Congressman Tom Udall by 18 points
* defeats Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez by 21 points
Now to Republican candidate Heather Wilson, Congresswoman from New Mexico's 1st Congressional District:
* Wilson loses to Udall by 18 points (same as Pearce),
* defeats Chavez by 4 points (Wilson runs 17 points weaker than Pearce)

The Draft Udall movement is really picking up steam. If you haven't seen yet, we were on page A2 of yesterday's Washington Post and were recently given coverage in The Hill, a newspaper circulated in Washington, DC to every office in Congress. Help keep up the pressure, sign the petition and pledge money to Tom Udall today!

If you've already signed, please sign again, your old duplicate signature will be deleted.

See the "Draft Udall Around the Web page for more coverage.

-Alex Flores

NEW MEXICO'S OPEN SENATE SEAT: THE COMPELLING CASE FOR TOM UDALL

I'm happy to introduce a new voice at DWT tonight, a colleague of mine from People For the American Way, Alex Flores from Corrales, New Mexico. He's a Senior at the George Washington University where he studies Public Policy. Active in local and national politics, he's one of the youngest ever appointed voting members of the Democratic Party of New Mexico's Platform and Resolutions Committee and a Young People For (YP4) Senior Fellow. I asked him to put the Draft Udall Movement into perspective for DWT readers. Here's his first report:

A Draft Movement in the Southwest has formed to convince Congressman Tom Udall (D-NM) to run for the United State Senate. In New Mexico, circles are alive with chatter that despite his announcement that he won't run, Congressman Tom Udall is still being urged by family, friends, and colleagues to make a bid for the Senate.

We are too. This week, we're trying to reach 100 small donors to tell Congressman Udall that New Mexicans want him to run for the Senate.

The Draft has been highlighted by the netroots, including the authoritative Heath Haussamen in New Mexico and here at Down With Tyranny. We've gotten plenty of attention elsewhere which you can browse here.

Today, New Mexico may have become the biggest battleground state in the country. With long-time Senator Pete Domenici's (R) retirement, and Representatives Wilson's (R) and Pearce's (R) announcements to run for Senate, a campaign by Tom Udall would leave every single Congressional seat in the state wide open. You'll recall that Heather Wilson beat seasoned politico Patricia Madrid for the 1st District seat last season by about 900 votes. In the past 5 elections, she's beaten 4 different opponents, making her a serious contender and a veteran campaigner.

This is one more reason to make sure that a Democrat like Tom Udall, who will run well across the state, will run for the United States Senate from New Mexico. Udall can help to deliver down-ballot races by driving up turnout for all 3 congressional seats that would be open and for State House and Senate seats where a turnout edge can make all the difference.

The Congressman is from New Mexico's 3rd Congressional district encompassing the northern portion of the state including Santa Fe, Taos, and Farmington. Tom Udall is the only Democratic member of the New Mexico House delegation and is one of the most popular Dems statewide. He has won statewide twice as Attorney General, and had $715,000 in the bank at the end of July. He's also a progressive legislator who opposed the War in Iraq and has a deep interest in solutions to the global warming crisis (see the video).

Congressman Tom Udall has seen contributions from 52 donors totaling over $515 since the Draft movement began. In contrast, eight days after announcing his bid for the Senate, Mayor Martin Chavez (D) has raised $255 on ActBlue from just two donors (10/16/07).

Congressman Tom Udall is the logical choice to run for the open Senate Seat. Popular Governor Bill Richardson continues to do well in Iowa and New Hampshire and has affirmed that he will continue his Presidential campaign. Mayor Martin Chavez is also running but was defeated at the polls two Tuesdays ago in Albuquerque City elections and is unpopular with Progressives.

In some ways, it seems like Udall is destined for this opportunity; he's from a long lineage of incredible public servants and has money in the bank ($801,562) at exactly the right time. Tom Udall is progressive and is especially strong on the environment and the Iraq War; he most recently voted against supplemental lacking a timetable for withdrawal.

In terms of numbers, his candidacy just makes sense. Congresswoman Heather Wilson (R) and Congressman Steve Pearce (R) are the two leading contenders to replace Senator Domenici on the Republican side (Pearce announced his candidacy today while Wilson declared less than 24 hours after Domenici's announcement and after weeks of traveling statewide). The numbers tell us that both Republicans beat current Dem candidates Chavez and Wiviott by small-to-wide margins. The following summary of the numbers comes from the Democracy For New Mexico blog.

Starting with Republican candidate Steven Pearce, Congressman from New Mexico's 2nd District:
*    Pearce loses to Congressman Tom Udall by 18 points
*    loses to Governor Bill Richardson by 24 points
*    defeats Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez by 21 points
*    defeats former Attorney General Patricia Madrid by 16 points
*    and defeats businessman Don Wiviott by 35 points.

Now to Republican candidate Heather Wilson, Congresswoman from New Mexico's 1st Congressional District:
*    Wilson loses to Udall by 18 points (same as Pearce),
*    loses to Richardson by 27 points (Wilson runs 3 points weaker than Pearce),
*    defeats Chavez by 4 points (Wilson runs 17 points weaker than Pearce),
*    effectively ties Patricia Madrid (Wilson runs 15 points weaker than Pearce)
*    and defeats Wiviott by 17 points (Wilson runs 18 points weaker than Pearce).

Someone needs to put these numbers on the Congressman's desk and tell him that it's time to run.

New Mexicans are sending their message loud and clear. Udall, who declared he would not run for the seat, is seeing a groundswell of support from New Mexicans urging him into the race. A true public servant, Congressman Udall is undoubtedly watching closely.

Help to send the message even louder as we try to reach 100 donors this week!

Please pass this along to your friends, families, and colleagues both in New Mexico and across the country. The Democratic candidate in New Mexico is not only important to New Mexicans themselves, but to everyone across the country as we try to increase our majority in the coming year. Congressman Udall is the perfect candidate to turn New Mexico's Senate delegation blue. Help us to convince him!

A move to run after announcing otherwise is not without precedent and you don't hear anyone complaining about the last guy who did it. In August of 2005, now Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown announced that he would not run against former-Senator Mike DeWine in Ohio. For the next two months, the grassroots urged him to reconsider his decision for the people of Ohio and for people across the nation. He eventually reversed his decision and went on to win the seat for Democrats, helping to give us control of the US Senate.

For one, he's a good progressive. He's pro-choice, an environmentalist, a defender of civil liberties and civil rights, and one of the great supporters for veterans in the Democratic Party today. Let's send Tom Udall to the United States Senate!


On the Web:

DraftUdall.Com

Draft Udall Act Blue

SNEAKY PETE'S PLAN REVEALED: BEQUEST "HIS" SENATE SEAT TO REPUBLICAN RUBBER STAMP HEATHER WILSON

Tweedledee wants to sell you Tweedledum

OK, so Domenici says he's retiring because he has dementia-- which he clearly does-- not because his poll numbers show he would lose a re-election bid (which they do) and not because the Purge-Gate investigation into the brutal, unwarranted political firing of David Iglesias would destroy whatever positive perception that is left of New Mexico's longest-serving senator (which it would). He's out and his equally tainted protege, Heather Wilson, has decided to check the congressional seat she was unlikely to win again and run for the Sneaky Pete senate seat instead.

Remember, Sneaky Pete's reason for involving himself in what became the U.S. Attorneys scandal had nothing to do with his own election. He-- and Wilson-- demanded that Iglesias aggressively pursue Democrats, regardless of evidence, in order to make the case before the Wilson's tough re-election bid that it isn't only Republicans who are corrupt and untrustworthy but that Democrats get in trouble too. When Iglesias told them that their was no basis for the case to go forward, they called Karl Rove and had him fired.

Sneaky Pete, who has become famous for his notorious "lapses of memory"-- like when he forgot to get dressed and went strolling through the Capitol in his pajamas-- knew he would have to retire soon. He, and his establishment supporters, felt the only possibility for the GOP to retain the New Mexico senate seat-- in a state that has been turning bluer and bluer-- would be to run the relatively "moderate" Wilson, not the extremely ambitious extremist, Steve Pearce (NM-02) who already ran and lost s Republican senatorial primary.

Now, if you take a close look at the actual voting records of Wilson and Pearce, they're not really that different, at least not in the real world. Both are, basically, rubber stamp Republicans who have reflexively followed the Bush-Cheney line on every hideous part of the far right agenda that has been shoved down Americans' throats in the past 7 years. A case can be made that Pearce is more extreme and more of a true-believer whackadoodle and that Wilson, while basically voting nearly as badly, at least wrings her hands and moans about voting like a true reactionary.

WILL SENATORIAL BACK-SCRATCHING LET DOMENICI SLIP AWAY FROM SEVERE ETHICS VIOLATIONS IN THE U.S. ATTORNEYS PURGE? WHAT ABOUT HEATHER WILSON?

Professional staffers for the Senate Ethics Committee have turned up enough heavy duty evidence on Pete "Sneaky Pete" Domenici (R-NM) to possibly lead to a prison sentence in the purge of U.S. Attorney David Iglesias. But the actual political hacks who serve as senators are loathe to prosecute one of their own. They'd rather just stick together, regardless of party-- or even level of criminality.

According to some senior staffers working for lawmakers who sit on the Ethics Committee, the six-month preliminary investigation into Domenici has turned up enough evidence to open a formal, public investigation into the New Mexico senator, having determined that Domenici acted inappropriately and that he may have violated Senate Ethics rules when he called Iglesias to ask whether Aragon would be indicted before the state's voters went to the polls last year.

But it's unclear if the Ethics Committee will end up launching a formal probe. A sticking point, Ethics Committee staffers say, is the long-standing "ethics truce" between Democrats and Republicans that dates back to the mid-1990s where lawmakers from both political parties agreed not to file ethics complaints against each other.

...The House Ethics Committee, meanwhile, is continuing to pursue its preliminary investigation into similar claims that Rep. Heather Wilson (R-New Mexico), by making similar phone calls to Iglesias last year inquiring about a sealed indictment against Aragon, may have violated House ethics rules. Wilson phoned Iglesias about two weeks before Domenici called the former federal prosecutor. The House Ethics Committee interviewed Iglesias in July about the substance of the phone call he received from Wilson last year.

Coincidentally, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson say's he isn't a candidate for the senile, corrupt and doddering Domenici's seat.

REPUBLICAN RAINMAKER ARRESTED AND CHARGED-- MANY GOP CANDIDATES REFUSE TO RETURN THE TAINTED FUNDS

Two recipients of Alan Fabian's bribes

You haven't heard of Alan Fabian? You're probably not a Republican officer holder-- or a law enforcement officer. The co-chair of Mitt Romney's national finance committee may not be as big a fish as Jack Abramoff when it comes to corruption but he's immensely wealthy and he's donated over a quarter million dollars to Republicans-- and you definitely wouldn't want him dating your daughter. Last week Fabian was charged last week on 23 counts of bankruptcy fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice and perjury. Would you expect less from a major Republican rainmaker who has given bribes contributions to all the stellar losers of the Republican Party, from George W. Bush right down to Macawitz and Conrad Burns. In fact, he has a tendency to pick big losers. He's wasted a great deal of money on the party's most spectacular losers, like Rick Santorum, Mike DeWine, Rob Simmons Anne Northup, Mark Kennedy, Thomas Kean, Mike Whalen, Michael Steele... he's got an extraordinary track record.

A federal grand jury has indicted Fabian for allegedly making $32 million in false purchases of computer equipment to pay for his lavish spending habits. Prosecutors are seeking $32 million worth of Fabian’s assets, including beach real estate in North Carolina, property in Maryland and a yacht.

Both Romney and Giuliani have announced that they're returning the tainted money they were given by Fabian. Giuliani, who has his own problems with organized crime, sex offenders and David Diaoers Vitter, was quick to try to associate Fabian with Romney. In returning the large donation he got from the indicted Republicrook, Giuliani's campaign released a statement reading “We are returning the contribution Romney’s national finance co-chair gave Rudy Giuliani."

On the other hand, Republicans who have not returned the ill-gotten money Fabian gave them include Steve Chabot (OH), Jim Gerlach (PA), Michele Bachmann (MN), Jon Porter (NV), Heather Wilson (NM), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA), Elizabeth Dole (NC), and Dave Reichert (WA). Other crooked Republicans who were on the take from Fabian are Peter Roskam (IL) , Charlie Dent (PA), Rick Renzi (AZ).

Heather Wilson seems to have been a multiple recipient of Fabian's dirty money and she refuses to give any back.

John Sides, an assistant professor at George Washington University who specializes in political behavior, said lawmakers who accept funds from an indicted donor face problems of appearance.

“Regardless of whether Mr. Fabian is convicted or guilty, the fact that he’s indicted casts suspicion on him and casts suspicion on the candidate for taking money from him,” said Sides. “It doesn’t matter if it’s only a thousand dollars, because your opponent can say you took money from a crook. The amount of money is only a detail.”

Sides said that lawmakers in this position have few good options available to them.

“It’s a decision between two bad things,” he said. “One bad thing is you keep the money and that makes you vulnerable [to attacks] or you give the money back and then you look guilty [of having accepted illicit funds].”

Fabian will be arraigned in late September. He has resigned from the Romney campaign.

THERE'S A LOT MORE TO CONGRESSIONAL CORRUPTION THAN JUST CALIFORNIA REPUBLICROOKS JOHN DOOLITTLE AND JERRY LEWIS

Corruption played a role in several congressional defeats last year-- particularly for Pombo (CA), Burns (MT), DeWine (OH), Weldon (PA), Hayworth (AZ), Sweeney (NY), Henry Bonilla (TX), Sherwood (PA), and for Joe Negron (FL), Joy Padgett (OH), and Sekula Gibbs (TX)--  respectively stand-ins for Foley, Ney and DeLay-- and turned otherwise pro forma re-election rituals into close calls in safe deep red seats for members like John Doolittle (CA-04), Rick Renzi (AZ-01), Tom Reynolds (NY), Deborah Pryce (OH), Mike McCaul (TX). Although nominally a Democrat, corrupt and reactionary Al Wynn (MD) had the same kind of brush with political extinction in the Democratic primary.

Friday Larry Sabato came out with a story, The Scandal-Tinged Six-- Whose campaigns are dead on arrival and who will survive to run again?, that examines the likely fall out from 2006 on next year's elections. He says Doolittle and Renzi are goners and throws three other ethically-challenged Republicans into the mix: Tom Feeney (FL), Jerry Lewis (CA), and Heather Wilson (NM).

Wilson's near loss last November was because she's a rubber stamp and because the district is trending Democratic. She's still a rubber stamp, the district is even more Democratic and it wasn't until this year that voters saw another, even more unseemly side, to Congresswoman Wilson.

Rep. Heather Wilson is one of the Representatives most closely associated with the fired U.S. Attorneys scandal. In mid-October of last year, less than a month before her hotly contested reelection, Wilson called the U.S. Attorney in New Mexico, David Iglesias, reportedly to speed up the federal investigation into supposed corruption by New Mexico Democrats. Iglesias notified her that indictments would not be handed down until after the election, and one week later he was fired by President Bush. Considering that Wilson won that election by only 875 votes out of over 200,000, she could well be a target again.

And the fact that Albuquerque City Council President Martin Heinrich, one of New Mexico's most attractive young rising stars-- sort of like David Iglesias was before Wilson and Domenici shivved him--
is running, will make even more difficult for her to hold onto the seat.

If you read DWT even semi-sporadically it's impossible that you don't know the saga of America's most corrupt sitting congressman: Jerry Lewis. But let's get Sabato's point of view:

According to conservative columnist Bob Novak, Rep. Jerry Lewis has decided not to seek another term, an unsurprising development considering recent scandals. Not so fast, says Lewis, who claims to have not yet made up his mind about running for reelection and points to a September announcement date. Lewis was one of the committee chairs of the 109th Congress who was ousted from his post when Democrats took over this January. While some observers speculated that these Republicans used to being in the majority would take part in a mass exodus via retirement, Lewis's potential retirement would represent only the second this year from this group (the other is Rep. Duncan Hunter, who is running for the Republican nomination for president).

Lewis' past scandals primarily revolve around his chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee which, detractors allege, allowed him to steer government contracts to companies that did business with a firm owned by his friend and colleague, ex-Rep. Bill Lowery. He was under investigation by a U.S. Attorney for such practices when the attorney was dismissed in the purge that turned into the U.S. Attorneys scandal. Lewis has been immune to electoral challenge throughout his career, winning with over 60 percent in all fifteen of his elections and surpassing the 80 percent mark three times. If anything, the district has been trending even more Republican in recent years, as Bush increased his winning percentage by 6 percent from 2000 to 2004, and the retirement, if true, of an embattled Congressman would remove any possible ammunition from the Democratic arsenal.

As for Feeney... his shenanigans with vote machines doesn't get much attention but his close and cuddly relationship with GOP rainmaker Jack Abramoff, currently in prison and supposedly singing like a canary (although I don't buy the canary part), could put him in jeopardy. Unfortunately, it's an exceptionally low-information district and unless Abramoff spills the beans, it looks like we're stuck with Feeney.

Sabato doesn't even touch on crooked Republicans facing possible indictments like Ken Calvert (R-CA), Gary Miller (R-CA), Virgil Goode, Jr. (R-VA), Patrick McHenry (NC), and Denny Hastert (IL). Oh and this is bipartisan. Reactionary William Jefferson-- who wasn't endorsed for re-election by the Democrats but was actually supported by Republicans in the district!-- is also a crook.

Actually, even more bipartisan-- excruciatingly so-- is CREW's latest report on nepotism and the power of committee chairs and ranking members to funnel taxpayer funds to their relatives. Highlights include tidbits like these:

• 96 (41 Democrats and 55 Republicans) used their positions to financially benefit family members;

• 64 (26 Democrats and 38 Republicans) paid family members through their campaign committees or PACs;

• 24 (10 Democrats and 14 Republicans) have relatives who lobby Congress;

• 19 (9 Democrats and 10 Republicans) used campaign committees or PACs to pay a family business or a business that employs a family member;

• 17 (11 Democrats and 6 Republicans) used campaign committee funds or PAC funds to make campaign contributions to relatives;

• 15 (3 Democrats and 12 Republicans) used their positions to benefit a family member or a family member’s client;

• At least 71 (all Republicans) paid offspring who ranged from school-age to college-age.

DOES ANYONE KNOW WHY DAVID IGLESIAS WAS FIRED? BUSH WON'T ALLOW ROVE TO TESIFY UNDER OATH. SO LET'S HEAR WHAT IGLESIAS SAYS

David Iglesias is a straight arrow attorney, the United States Naval Reserve commander whose character was portrayed by Tom Cruise in the film A Few Good Men. Until recently he was one of the GOP's best and brightest hopes for making political headway in the fast-growing Mexican-American community in the southwest. Bush appointed him to be U.S. Attorney for New Mexico in 2001. His official performance review was exemplary. And then he was fired-- and smeared. What went wrong?

Today's New York Times has an OpEd that may help us understand what happened. It's entitled Why I Was Fired and it was written by David Iglesias.

WITH this week’s release of more than 3,000 Justice Department e-mail messages about the dismissal of eight federal prosecutors, it seems clear that politics played a role in the ousters.

Of course, as one of the eight, I’ve felt this way for some time. But now that the record is out there in black and white for the rest of the country to see, the argument that we were fired for "performance related" reasons (in the words of Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty) is starting to look more than a little wobbly.

United States attorneys have a long history of being insulated from politics. Although we receive our appointments through the political process (I am a Republican who was recommended by Senator Pete Domenici), we are expected to be apolitical once we are in office. I will never forget John Ashcroft, then the attorney general, telling me during the summer of 2001 that politics should play no role during my tenure. I took that message to heart. Little did I know that I could be fired for not being political.

Politics entered my life with two phone calls that I received last fall, just before the November election. One came from Representative Heather Wilson and the other from Senator Domenici, both Republicans from my state, New Mexico.

Ms. Wilson asked me about sealed indictments pertaining to a politically charged corruption case widely reported in the news media involving local Democrats. Her question instantly put me on guard. Prosecutors may not legally talk about indictments, so I was evasive. Shortly after speaking to Ms. Wilson, I received a call from Senator Domenici at my home. The senator wanted to know whether I was going to file corruption charges-- the cases Ms. Wilson had been asking about-- before November. When I told him that I didn’t think so, he said, "I am very sorry to hear that," and the line went dead.

A few weeks after those phone calls, my name was added to a list of United States attorneys who would be asked to resign-- even though I had excellent office evaluations, the biggest political corruption prosecutions in New Mexico history, a record number of overall prosecutions and a 95 percent conviction rate. (In one of the documents released this week, I was deemed a "diverse up and comer" in 2004. Two years later I was asked to resign with no reasons given.)

When some of my fired colleagues-- Daniel Bogden of Las Vegas; Paul Charlton of Phoenix; H. E. Cummins III of Little Rock, Ark.; Carol Lam of San Diego; and John McKay of Seattle-- and I testified before Congress on March 6, a disturbing pattern began to emerge. Not only had we not been insulated from politics, we had apparently been singled out for political reasons. (Among the Justice Department’s released documents is one describing the office of Senator Domenici as being "happy as a clam" that I was fired.)

As this story has unfolded these last few weeks, much has been made of my decision to not prosecute alleged voter fraud in New Mexico. Without the benefit of reviewing evidence gleaned from F.B.I. investigative reports, party officials in my state have said that I should have begun a prosecution. What the critics, who don’t have any experience as prosecutors, have asserted is reprehensible-- namely that I should have proceeded without having proof beyond a reasonable doubt. The public has a right to believe that prosecution decisions are made on legal, not political, grounds.

What’s more, their narrative has largely ignored that I was one of just two United States attorneys in the country to create a voter-fraud task force in 2004. Mine was bipartisan, and it included state and local law enforcement and election officials.

After reviewing more than 100 complaints of voter fraud, I felt there was one possible case that should be prosecuted federally. I worked with the F.B.I. and the Justice Department’s public integrity section. As much as I wanted to prosecute the case, I could not overcome evidentiary problems. The Justice Department and the F.B.I. did not disagree with my decision in the end not to prosecute.

Good has already come from this scandal. Yesterday, the Senate voted to overturn a 2006 provision in the Patriot Act that allows the attorney general to appoint indefinite interim United States attorneys. The attorney general’s chief of staff has resigned and been replaced by a respected career federal prosecutor, Chuck Rosenberg. The president and attorney general have admitted that "mistakes were made," and Mr. Domenici and Ms. Wilson have publicly acknowledged calling me.

President Bush addressed this scandal yesterday. I appreciate his gratitude for my service — this marks the first time I have been thanked. But only a written retraction by the Justice Department setting the record straight regarding my performance would settle the issue for me.

OK, now I understand... completely. Darkness hates Light; that easy.


UPDATE: AND IT LOOKS LIKE I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO UNDERSTANDS

Things may be more genteel in the Senate and Sneaky Pete may be allowed to retire graciously instead of being held up to the public for the bucket of stinking raw sewage he's long been. But in the House, Chris Van Hollen of the DCCC is wasting no time to drive home the point to Heather Wilson's constituents what they have representing them in Congress. Go listen to the ad. It's great having someone in charge of the DCCC who knows how to fight corrupt and reactionary Republicans.

DOMENICI SHOULD HAVE HIRED LAWYERS BEFORE HE TRIED INTIMIDATING THE U.S. ATTORNEY FOR NEW MEXICO

This is just my own little theory but I never expected Domenici to run for re-election next year. I have believed for a long time now that he was aiming to hand-off the seat smoothly to his protege, Rep. Heather Wilson, mostly to keep the other Republican congress member from New Mexico, reactionary extremist Steve Pearce from jumping in, probably beating Wilson and then losing the seat to a Democrat. (The theory is that the more mainstream conservative Wilson can appeal to people with a 3-digit IQ whereas Pearce's extremist allure runs out when you get beyond the people who have learned to sing Horst Wessel Lied.) Anyway, Domenici has about a quarter million dollars cash on hand, a pittance for a Senate run-- and far less than Tom Udall has on hand (over $700,000) and nothing compared to what Governor Bill Richardson would have left over from what he's out raising-- and is transferable-- for a presidential or vice-presidential campaign that is unlikely to go very far.


This dovetails nicely with how both Wilson and Domenici got on Republican federal prosecutor David Iglesias' ass about not staging a showy political trial against some Democrats in time for what was proving to be a very tough re-election battle for Wilson. (She won by 879 votes and had she lost Domenici's plan would have been mortally wounded.) When Iglesias proven to not be a team player, Domenici got tough with him, threatened him, tried to intimidate him and eventually called Gonzales and had him fired. This is absolutely a New Mexico version of Nixon's "Saturday Night Massacre" and it probably dooms Domenici's and Wilson's plans no matter what they are.


This afternoon the Washington Post reported that Domenici, finally realizing what hot water he's in, hired a top defense attorney. He hired a Republican shyster who wasn't able to do much to keep his last GOP criminal client, Randy "Duke" Cunningham, out of prison. The Senate Ethics Committee has announced it is investigating Domenici's outrageous behavior. Hiring a heavy hitter like Blalack, who has managed to keep another crooked client, Bill Frist, out of jail so far for his stock manipulations when he was Senate Majority Leader, is very expensive. Like I said above, Domenici has around $260,000 in his kitty. Rep. Jerry Lewis, another Republican crook being investigated, has already reported spending almost a million dollars and he hasn't even been indicted yet!


What makes matters even worse is that Domenici has been unable to keep his stories straight and they change every day. At first he denied everything and accused Iglesias of lying. Now he admits he called him but disputes Iglesias' recollections. (Iglesias is sharp and Domenici, aside from being nasty and vicious, is noticeably senile.)

The DSCC smells a dead pig and they're eager to pick up a seat in Democratic-leaning New Mexico. As I said a few days ago, Bill Richardson, Tom Udall, Lt. Gov Diane Denish or Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez could all make credible runs against Domenici now. Richardson would be heavily favored to beat him.

WILL HEATHER WILSON, THE LATEST BUSH REGIME CRIMINAL OPERATOR EXPOSED, RESIGN TODAY? OR IS SHE WAITING TO SEE IF SHE CAN SLITHER OUT OF THIS ONE?

Hillary Clinton once referred to the same people who are behind the Bush Regime-- pre-Bush-- as "a vast right-wing conspiracy." A better and more precise phrase would be to point out that they are also a vast criminal enterprise. While Libby was being found guilty on 4 out of 5 counts of purgery, obstruction of justice, and making false statements to the FBI, the Senate Judiciary Committee began hearings into why the Bush Regime fired 8 Federal Prosecutors without cause-- 8 Republican prosecutors, I might add, all of whom had been doing a great job pursuing criminals.

Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias told the Senate Judiciary Committee today that Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) called him on Oct. 16 -- while she was locked in a tight battle for re-election -- to say she had heard that his ongoing criminal investigation into local Albuquerque Democrats may have produced indictments that Iglesias was sitting on.

"What can you tell me about sealed indictments?" Wilson asked, according to Iglesias' sworn testimony before the committee today.

Iglesias said "red flags" immediately went up in his mind about the conversation because it was unethical for him to talk about an ongoing criminal investigation, particularly on matters as sensitive as the timing of indictments.

Iglesias testified that he was "evasive and unresponsive" and Wilson and her mentor, U.S. Senator Pete Domenici-- after he also called and asked pointedly if Iglesias would file charges before Wilson's election-- went crying to Alberto Gonzales, who then fired Iglesias, previous a GOP hero and role model. Domenici slammed the phone down on Igelsias when he didn't get the answers he wanted-- typical bully tactics from a powerful, out-of-control senator towards a public servant-- and Iglesias was freaked out. "I felt sick afterward... I felt leaned on, I felt pressured to get these matters moving," Iglesias testified this morning.

Five other fired prosecutors will be testifying today. This is very brave of them since they have been threatened, Nazi-style, by Gonzales' thugs. "Bud Cummins, who was dismissed from his position as U.S. Attorney for Arkansas, said he had been threatened with retaliation by the Bush administration if he testified before Congress voluntarily. Cummins provided the committees with an e-mail he sent the five other prosecutors appearing with him today which detailed a tense conversation the former Arkansas federal prosecutor had with a senior Justice Department official regarding their public comments about the firings."

Hard to imagine this is the United States of America, isn't it? But under this illegitimate president who stole the presidency twice and has operated our government as though it were a criminal gang, this is just more of the same. If Democrats and any Republicans who are not complicit with this crime empire do not take real action, they will be judged by history as equally guilty. And this is about more than just making political points. This goes to the heart and soul of our threatened democracy.

Democrats, including Sen. Charles Schumer (NY) and Rep. Linda Sanchez (Calif.), who are leading today's hearings, have raised questions about whether the firings were politically motivated ousters designed to quell some of the investigations the prosecutors were running. Four of the eight led probes of important Republicans, while Iglesias was involved in the lengthy probe of Democrats and had drawn fire from local Republicans who expected a quicker indictments... In a carefully worded statement yesterday, the Senate Ethics Committee revealed that a preliminary inquiry was underway with regard to Domenici's role in speaking to Iglesias about an active criminal investigation. The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, as the ethics panel is formally known, has not commented on the Wilson allegations.

The Congressional Ethics Committees almost never take any serious action against their comfy little old boys network so I have little expectations that Domenici or Wilson will suffer at their hands. But both will be up for election next year and both should face very stiff opposition. I expect Governor Bill Richardson to consider the New Mexico senate seat just thrown away by Domenici unless Hillary picks him to be her running mate (instead of Mark Warner). The money he's racing now for his "presidential" race can be transfered to a Senate race. Tom Udall (NM-03) might also consider switching from the House to the Senate (along with his Colorado brother) and he's got over $700,000 left over from his recent House re-election. Other possiblities to put the senile, doddering, pissed-off Domenici out of his misery are Lt. Governor Diane Denish and Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez.


UPDATE; OH... AND CORRUPT OLD DOC HASTINGS LOOKS LIKE HE WAS GUILTY IN THIS TOO, NO SURPRISE THERE

Doc Hastings (R-WA) was installed by Tom DeLay as chairman of the ethics committee for one reason and one reason only: he is a crook with absolutely no ethics and was willing to whitewash DeLay's criminal activities where other Republicans with more dignity and more respect for America wouldn't. So it should come as no surprise to anyone that he is also connected to the deepening scandal surrounding the firing of 8 Federal Prosecutors. The U.S. Attorney for Washington State testified this morning in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee that Hastings pressured him to interfere in Washington's gubernatorial election results. When McKay told him the call was "improper," Hasting's chef of staff slammed down the phone. Hastings is believed responsible for getting McKay fired by Gonzales. Think Progress has the video clip. [UPDATE: More Hastings criminal behavior.]

Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy compared the firings to the Watergate dismissals. "Not since the Saturday Night Massacre, when President Nixon forced the firing of the Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox, have we witnessed anything like this," he said.

WILL INVESTIGATIONS LEAD TO IMPEACHMENT OF GONZALES? OR WILL HE RESIGN INSTEAD?

OK, so we know the Bush Regime was playing fast and loose with the Justice system by forcing out 8 federal prosecutors who were recalcitrant about politicizing their positions. In San Diego they axed Carol Lam because they were pissed off she exposed Bush's pal Randy "Duke" Cunningham and feared her pursuit of justice was leading to congressmen Jerry Lewis, Duncan Hunter, John Doolittle and to Bush himself, who sold a presidential pardon to crooked Republican millionaire Thomas Kontogiannis through Cunningham for $400,000. Now it turns out New Mexico Congresswoman Heather Wilson and her patron Senator Pete Domenici pressured the prosecutor there to speed up an investigation that they felt would help her electorally if it turned out the way they wanted it to turn it. When he refused to play ball, they demanded that Gonzales fire him, which he did.

Already there is a shocking new revelation in this unseemly matter. Tom DiBiagio, "the former federal prosecutor in Maryland said Monday that he was forced out in early 2005 because of political pressure stemming from public corruption investigations involving associates of the state’s governor, a Republican. 'There was direct pressure not to pursue these investigations,' said the former prosecutor, Thomas M. DiBiagio. 'The practical impact was to intimidate my office and shut down the investigations.'"


Today Congressional hearings begin about this outrageous perversion of justice. Although Gonzales claimed he had better things to do with his time, his ass is being hauled before the Senate and House investigating committees (where he will tell them this is all a p.r. problem that didn't go smoothly). It looks like the Regime has decided on their scapegoat in all this-- Michael Battle, who called all 7 prosecutors and told them they were fired. The Bush Regime hopes to save Gonzales from impeachment by tossing Battle overboard. Just as hearings begin in the Senate and House, they announced Battle-- more a messenger than an executioner in this matter-- is leaving the Justice Department.

Today's New York Times points to the relationship between investigations into the outrageous (and impeachable) way the Bush Regime has treated our wounded military men and women and investigations into the way they have perverted justice: oversight.

Democratic leaders say it is the beginning of a fundamentally different power relationship between Congress and the Bush administration. Representative Rahm Emanuel, the Illinois Democrat who is chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said of the administration: “In the past, they would stonewall this through a news cycle and know they could ride it out. Now they know there's a Congress of another party, with the power of subpoenas, the power to hold hearings, the power to ask questions.”

Gonzales and the Bush Regime, of course, dispute all charges against them. Everyone else is wrong; all truth is with them. (Keep in mind that all of these ousted prosecutors are Republicans and all were political appointees of the Bush Regime and all just wanted to pursue crime wherever it led, regardless of politics.) Gonzales is now threatening the fired prosecutors, telling them that if they testify against the Regime, the Regime will come after them. Is this America or is this Nazi Germany?

A high-ranking Justice Department official [Michael Elston] told one of the U.S. attorneys fired by the Bush administration that if any of them continued to criticize the administration for their ousters, previously undisclosed details about the reasons they were fired might be released, two of the ousted prosecutors told McClatchy Newspapers.

Our Justice Department is being run by a pack of corrupt gangsters. Emanuel was bragging about the changing relationship between the Bush Regime and Congress. Let's see him call for Gonzales' impeachment.









BYE-BYE, PETEY 'N' HEATHER!
(AND MAYBE NEXT UP: "SEE YA, TORTURE GUY!"?)

Aww, poor Petey D! Poor Heather W! All they did was make those totally harmless little phone calls--oh, and maybe lie about them just a little. And now people, including fellow Republicans in their own state of New Mexico, are talking about them as if they're electoral toast. Aww!

Well, good riddance! Readers may recall that I've been hot about this business of blatantly politicizing U.S. attorneys' tenure since the dawn of the firing scandal. Of course everything in the execuive branch is political, including the U.S. attorneys--but there are limits. Of course in the Bush regime "limits" are what you trample over on your way to pillaging and plundering your next target. But really, there are limits, and if I wore a hat, I'd take it off to the congressional Democrats who've stayed the course pursuing this flagrantly unacceptable outrage. By rights, it should be sufficient grounds for the impeachment and removal of Chimpy the Prez. In reality, I'm stunned that a matter of such real but obscure substance--the fairness and effectiveness of the federal justice system rests on the trustworthiness of all those U.S. attorneys, political appointeees all but still some of our most crucial public servants--has gotten this much attention.

Already we're at the stage of hurling flunkies off the hard-chugging Chimpy Scapegoat Express. This Michael Battle creep probably thought he was some hot stuff 'cause the big boys let him be the button man who "took out" all those insufficiently loyal losers they'd marked for termination. Now he knows he's just the pathetic stooge of a bunch of grander stooges. Next up on the "hit" parade, let us hope: AG "Idiot Al" ("The Torture Guy") Gonzales--and after Idiot Al, well, maybe this housecleaning impulse will take hold.--Ken