"This is political. If I were you, I'd just go quietly."

Thankfully, David Iglesias is not a Loyal Bushie like the man who uttered that pearl of banality, Texas U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton.

Instead, Iglesias is a man of honor. He did not simply acquiesce and "go quietly." If he had, it is highly unlikely that the politicization of the Justice Department would have come to light.

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.

Sutton has close ties to Bush that date all the way back to aWol's first gubernatorial campaign, and aschairman of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys he was privy to the plans to get rid of the attorneys who weren't political enough in bringing prosecutions to influence the electoral process.

On the other hand, Sutton gets plenty of mileage out of being a Loyal Bushie, and has taken full advantage of the cover that generates, and clung to his own job in spite of calls for his resignation. He has been accused of overzealously prosecuting two Border Patrol agents, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean, both of whom were sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for shooting a Mexican drug runner as he was trying to flee back to Mexico.

"The type of protection from political pressure that Johnny has gotten was the kind of protection that I thought we would get," said Iglesias, who quickly adds that he bears no grudge against Sutton. "And we didn't get it, I think largely because we didn't have a personal relationship with the president."

There's more: ""This is political. If I were you, I'd just go quietly."" >>

Senator Domenici Announces He Will Not Seek Reelection

Wednesday afternoon, Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico became the fourth Class II Republican Senator to announce his retirement from the upper chamber since the Republicans lost the majority in both houses in the Great Republican Rout of 2006™. Wayne Allard of Colorado, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and John Warner of Virginia have previously announced that they will not seek reelection in 2008.

Lets revisit recent history and make sure we view the Domenici retirement through the appropriate lens, shall we?

(keep reading)

Domenici announces the end of his long career under a cloud of scandal and possible future criminal indictment stemming from the Department of Justice U.S. Attorneys firings. In March, Domenici retained high-powered Washington criminal defense attorney Lee Blalock to represent him in the DoJ investigation, where he is accused of attempting to pressure a U.S. Attorney into using his office to influence the midterm elections. Fired U.S. Attorney David Iglesias said in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee that he felt "leaned on" and "sickened" when Domenici called him seeking information about an investigation of a local Democrat. Specifically, Domenici asked if charges would be filed before the election, and when Iglesias told him they would not, Domenici said “That’s too bad.” And hung up.

David Iglesias – the real-life person the Tom Cruise character in A Few Good Men is based on – became one of the United States Attorneys fired a few months later in the Pearl Harbor Day massacre. In case you have forgotten, on December 7 of 2006, a slate of U.S. Attorneys who either pursued charges against Republicans (Carol Lam in California prosecuted Duke Cunningham and was fired) or who, like Iglesias, refused to use the power of their office to influence lections to favor Republicans, were fired.

In Iglesias case, the trumped up reason for his termination was “time spent away from the office.” The 45 days per year he was gone, was Navy Reserves duty, and the Department of Justice, his very employer, is the government entity charged with prosecuting employers who violate the rights of reservists when that service is used to the detriment of the reservist in employment matters.

When Domenici retained Lee Blalock, a friend of mine, who happens to be an attorney, said that Lee Blalock is not who you hire if you are afraid of losing a Senate seat. Lee Blalock is who you hire if you have been engaging in criminal behavior and you want to keep your ass out of the slammer.

About six weeks after it was made public that Domenici had lawyered up, the Senate Ethics Committee engaged a rare parliamentary move that turned up the heat on Domenici and indicated that the scope of the investigation was widening from the mere propriety of the phone call in question.

The possibility that Domenici violated Senate ethics rules, and perhaps engaged in criminal conduct has not been laid to rest, all investigations are ongoing. It is at least possible that revelations will be brought to light about the Senators involvement in the U.S. Attorney scandal when Bush’s pick for Attorney General comes up for confirmation later in the month.

Steve Benen has more.

There's more: "Senator Domenici Announces He Will Not Seek Reelection" >>

More on the U.S. Attorney Political-Firings Scandal

From NPR's All Things Considered, posted with only this comment - if you haven't heard the interview, just listen.

That is all.

U.S. Attorney Says Firing Had Political Origins

All Things Considered, March 1, 2007 · David Iglesias, who until this week was the United States attorney in New Mexico, says that his firing is tied to political pressure put on him in October by two members of Congress. So far, Iglesias has refused to name them, but that may change. Today, Congress issued subpoenas to Iglesias and three of his colleagues who were also fired.

They are scheduled to testify before Congress next Tuesday.

Iglesias is one of eight United States attorneys recently dismissed by the Justice Department. Democrats in Congress have called the firings politically motivated. The Justice Department says most of the attorneys were asked to resign because of poor job performance.

Melissa Block talks with Iglesias. Listen by following this link.

There's more: "More on the U.S. Attorney Political-Firings Scandal" >>