This isn't about instant messages with Congressional pages one-third your age, what is happening in D.C. tomorrow pertains to something much more serious. Recently several U.S. Attorneys were fired from their positions by the Bush Adminstration, who justified the decision based on performance levels. However, all of them had performed quite well in recent reports.
Now one of these attorneys is pissed off enough to go to Congress and name names. David Iglesias worked in the New Mexico office and claims that the elected officials from his state pressured him to lay off Republicans under investigation and go after Democrats instead before the elections last November. Those officials (Republicans obviously) were Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson. At first they denied ever talking to him, but with the Congressional testimony expected tomorrow, their lips are beginning to loosen a bit.
From the Washington Post:
Iglesias, one of seven U.S. attorneys fired by the Justice Department on Dec. 7, is expected to tell Congress today that Wilson and Domenici were trying to sway the course of his investigation. Domenici acknowledged Sunday that he called Iglesias about the corruption case but said he did not pressure him. The telephone calls to Iglesias by Domenici and Wilson appear to put them in conflict with congressional ethics rules that bar contacts with federal agency officials during most active investigations.
The furor over Domenici and Wilson has rapidly become the focus of the dispute over the firings of eight U.S. attorneys and a change in law that allows Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales to appoint interim prosecutors for an indefinite period of time. The Justice Department has said that seven of the prosecutors were dismissed for failing to follow Bush administration policy on multiple issues, and acknowledged that one was sacked to make way for an ally of White House political adviser Karl Rove.
If the White House is willing to admit to one story of political payoffs, you know the truth is far uglier. Most likely, all eight were let go because they did not respect the most sacred of qualities in the Bush Adminstration, loyalty. Whatever you do, do not trye to hold the government that appointed you responsible for their actions. Whether it is people within the White House or friends like Duke Cunningham, those looking for justice will be extrapolated from their positions.
Be sure to watch out for Iglesias' testimony tomorrow, this thing may go all the way to the top. From Wilson and Domenici to AG Alberto Gonzales and President Bush, the corruption that exists in the Republican machine must be brought out to face the full power of the law, that law that Bush and his cronies have worked so hard to avoid.
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