Iglesias Threw the Election to his "Ally" Heather Wilson

NOB HILL--I have already made the point that former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias consciously hid those unethical phone calls he received from Sen. Domenici and Rep. Wilson. He hid them from both the public and the Justice Department. And he would have kept silent about them forever if his former mentor and ally had remained loyal to him. But they didn't...and so now we have Iglesias testifying he felt "sick" and "leaned on" in the most personal terms and in front of the whole U.S.A.

Here we have a man who knew he had the outcome of the election in his hands: if the indictments came down before November, Heather Wilson wins...and if he reports the phone calls, Heather loses. This congressional race was that close, being eventually decided by only a thousand votes.

In front of the Senate Judiciary Committee Iglesias stated that he didn't report the calls because he was "conflicted." He added, "I wanted to stay out of politics." But he did have an ethical obligation to report the calls at least to the Justice Department. Not only that, he was bound by department policy to do so. It was solely a personal decision based on friendship that drove him to stay silent until after the election.

David Iglesias ran for NM Attorney General as a Republican the same year that Heather Wilson made her first run for U.S. Congress. She won; he did not. But he considered her an "ally" and said so in front of the Senate committee. Pete Domenici was the man who was responsible for Iglesias being named U.S. Attorney. Indeed, Iglesias was being groomed for another run for political office...possibly for Heather's seat if and when she ran for Domenici's Senate position.

David Iglesias had a lot to gain for keeping silent. "I wanted to stay out of politics," is what he said. "I'll keep our secret," is what he meant. Did David Iglesias throw the election? Did his public duty get subverted by his alliances with Domenici and Wilson? Yes...and Yes.

Just like in the movies, when the Godfather comes calling in a favor, guys like David Iglesias are supposed to say, "Yes...anything for you Godfather." But instead his mouth opened and nothing came out. When Domenici then hung up on him, David Iglesias' future in statewide politics was over.