Ethics Newsline®

– David Iglesias, the former U.S. attorney in New Mexico, speculating last week about why he was abruptly dismissed by the Justice Department in December.

Including Iglesias, eight U.S. attorneys were fired in the same month, all of whom were appointed by the Bush administration, which gave performance reasons as the cause of their firing. That public rebuke has sparked protest from many of those fired, who say they were doing their jobs and doing them well, as evidenced by positive job evaluations and filed indictments.

Some of the attorneys, as well as some members of Congress, suspect that politics, not performance, is the cause of the mass firing. Iglesias intimates that he was fired after rejecting pressure from state lawmakers to indict a prominent Democrat before the 2004 elections. Rep. Pete Domenici (R-NM) admits pushing for Iglesias’s dismissal, but denies that his motive is retribution, saying Iglesias simply is not “up to the job,” reports the New York Times.

Congressional hearings, which will include testimony from five of the U.S. attorneys, is scheduled for this week.