Rep. Wilson Says She Contacted Prosecutor
Rep. Wilson Says She Contacted Prosecutor
By Paul Kane and Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, March 5, 2007; 8:12 PM
Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) acknowledged today that she contacted a federal prosecutor to complain about the pace of his public corruption investigations, as the Senate Ethics Committee signaled that it had opened a preliminary inquiry into a similar communication by the state’s senior senator, Pete V. Domenici (R).
Wilson denied allegations from former New Mexico U.S. attorney David C. Iglesias that she was pressuring him to speed up the pace of a public corruption investigation involving Democrats in the waning days of a tight election campaign.
“I did not ask about the timing of any indictments and I did not tell Mr. Iglesias what course of action I thought he should take or pressure him in any way,” Wilson said in a statement to the Washington Post. “The conversation was brief and professional.”
Iglesias, one of seven U.S. attorneys fired by the Justice Department on Dec. 7, is expected to testify to Congress tomorrow that Wilson and Domenici were indeed 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 furor over Domenici and Wilson has rapidly overshadowed 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 provision was passed with little notice last year and Democrats — fearing that Gonzales intends to evade Senate oversight — have proposed legislation to repeal the measure.
The lawmakers’ telephone calls to Iglesias appear to put them in conflict with congressional ethics rules, which forbid such contacts to federal agency officials regarding “quasi-judiciary” investigations.
The Senate Ethics Committee released a statement Monday evening declining to address the allegations against Domenici, but noted that any time a legitimate complaint is filed against a senator it begins a preliminary inquiry. The statement, from the chairwoman, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), the committee’s ranking member, noted that preliminary inquiries can lead to more expansive investigations.
Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington, a liberal-leaning advocacy group, filed a complaint with the committee against Domenici on Monday.
Wilson said in her statement that many of her constituents had complained about “the slow pace of federal prosecutions” in corruption cases and said she was told by one unidentified constituent that “Iglesias was intentionally delaying corruption investigations.”
Wilson also said she was trying to help Iglesias: “If the purpose of my call has somehow been misperceived, I am sorry for any confusion. I thought it was important for Mr. Iglesias to receive this information and, if necessary, have the opportunity to clear his name.”
[Why did it take her so long to make a statement about her “innocent” actions?}
Wilson said Iglesias’s dismissal occurred “without input from me.” Justice officials said they are not aware of any contacts by Wilson about Iglesias. But they said Sunday that Domenici complained to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales three times in 2005 and 2006 and spoke to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty in the first week of October 2006.
Also yesterday, the senior Justice Department official who carried out the attorney firings announced his resignation, but said his departure was unrelated to the dismissals.
Michael A. Battle, who has headed the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys for less than two years, said in a statement that he first began considering outside employment last summer. His last day will be in mid-March, officials said.
Battle called seven U.S. attorneys on Dec. 7 and notified them that they were being asked to leave.
The ethical quandary facing Domenici and Wilson heightens the political pressures that both are facing back home, where Democrats are touting the Iglesias allegations with one eye on attacking the Bush White House and the other on two seats they consider vulnerable in 2008.
There has been speculation from both parties that Domenici, a 34-year veteran of the chamber, may not run for a seventh term next year, when he will turn 76. But he held a large fund-raiser in Albuquerque two weeks ago that was meant to serve notice of his intentions to run again, and aides and outside advisers maintained yesterday that the latest flap will not change his plans.
But the potential for an ethics review of his behavior has independent analysts questioning whether he can withstand such scrutiny. Wilson the heir apparent to his seat, narrowly won re-election in November by less than 1,000 votes.
“You’re having an impact on the Senate race either way — whether he stays or not,” said Amy Walter, a handicapper with the Cook Political Report.
An inquiry into Wilson’s actions could impair what Walter called Wilson’s “outsider” reputation. “It calls into question those skills,” she said.
Before the scandal erupted, the Rothenberg Political Report, another independent handicapper, had listed Wilson as one of the dozen most endangered House Republican incumbents.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/05/AR2007030501241_pf.html