McClatchy's Washington Bureau has confirmed that Senator Pete Domenici and Representative Heather Wilson pressured US Attorney David Iglesias about the timing of an indictment of a democrat in the run up to the last election.
The two people with knowledge of the incident said Domenici and Wilson intervened in mid-October, when Wilson was in a competitive re-election campaign that she won by 875 votes out of nearly 211,000 cast.
Apparently people have forgotten that there was a serious movement back in the late 1920s and 1930s to clean up Federal law enforcement in general, and the US Attorney offices, in particular, all across the country. Back in the bad old days Federal law enforcement was perceived as being the personal privilege of the party in power at best or for sale to the highest bidder at worst. Remember Al Capone and the Untouchables. Well the Untouchables were part of the movement to professionalize Federal law enforcement. For the last 70 years the professionalism of Federal law enforcement including the very professional US Attorney offices across the country, has been one of our crowning jewels. They have played the role of straight shooters, enforcing the rules for everybody.
Nobody was shocked when Lam followed the evidence and went after Cunningham and Foggo. All of us should be proud, but not surprised, that Iglesias rebuffed Domenici and Wilson. Wilson was new and scared, maybe her call could be excused. Domenici is an old hand. He should have known better.
We Americans used to take it for granted that regardless of which political party was in power the US Attorney was going to prosecute political corruption regardless of who was involved. The US Attorney's office didn't play favorites or time its indictements to impact elections. If a politician did a crime, and the US Attorney could prove it, he could expect to do the time.
Apparently the Justice Department under Alberto Gonzolas is nothing more than an arm of the Republican party. Justice is no longer blind. It is expected to peak and if a Republican is involved, it is expected to wink. That perception has to change right now. This is not a tempest in a tea pot story. This is a story that goes straight to the heart of the American experiment. If we can't trust the United States Justice Department to prosecute any law breaker regardless of power or party, we will find ourselves back in the 1920s of Al Capone wondering how we can possibly stop corrupt political machines.
