Press Releases
May 01, 2008
Darren White: Partisan Politics Before Ethics
Sworn to uphold the law as Bernalillo County Sheriff,
Darren White used his authority to inappropriately advance a political
agenda by complaining to Senator Pete Domenici and U.S. Attorney General Alberto
Gonzales’ staff about U.S. Attorney David Iglesias. Last week, the Senate Ethics
Committee admonished Senator
Domenici for his role in Iglesias’ dismissal and the House Ethics Committee is
investigating Representative Heather Wilson for her
role.
“A federal prosecutor was fired only after he refused to
bend to political pressure Darren White helped orchestrate. If he were in
Congress, White would likely be under investigation for violating ethical
standards,” said Yoni Cohen, Western Regional Press Secretary for the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee. “Senator Domenici is paying the price for
listening to Darren White -- he was punished by the Ethics Committee. The people
of
In 2004, White served as the New Mexico Chairman of the
Bush/Cheney re-election campaign and pressured Iglesias to investigate trumped
up charges of voter fraud. Not satisfied with Iglesias’ response, White in 2006
complained about Iglesias to Sen. Domenici and Attorney General Gonzales’ chief
of staff, Kyle Sampson. Sen. Domenici subsequently called Iglesias about the
investigation, Sampson recommended his dismissal and Iglesias was fired.
The Senate Ethics Committee recently admonished Sen. Domenici for his role in
Iglesias’ dismissal. The House Ethics Committee also started an investigation
into Representative Heather Wilson, who like Senator Domenici called Iglesias
and who White is seeking to replace in Congress.
Timeline:
August 2004: White Calls Iglesias
about Investigation of Voter Registration Issues. In August
2004, White, serving then as the Chairman of the Bush/Cheney re-election
campaign, asked U.S. Attorney David Iglesias to investigate voter registration
issues in the state. [
September 2004: Iglesias Creates
Voter Fraud Task Force. Iglesias established a voter fraud
task force to investigate complaints about election fairness, however the voter
task force never led to even a criminal charge. White called the task force
“ridiculous… Just do the case,” White said. “It was very frustrating.” [US
News and World Report, 3/15/07; Daily Breeze, 3/18/07;
2005: NM GOP Chair Complains About
Iglesias. In 2005, Allen Weh, the New Mexico Republican Party
chairman, complained about Iglesias to an aide to Karl Rove and asked that he be
removed from office. [US News and World Report, 3/15/07; Daily
Breeze, 3/18/07;
Spring 2005: White Complains to Kyle Sampson at DOJ About
Iglesias. In the spring of 2006, White took his complaints directly
to the Department of Justice where he met with Attorney General Alberto
Gonzales’ chief of staff, Kyle Sampson and others. [
Sometime in 2006: White Complains
About Iglesias to Domenici. In 2007, the Albuquerque
Journal reported that White had taken a “laundry list” of complaints to Sen.
Pete Domenici about Iglesias previously. Iglesias later said White was part of a
"political chorus that got to Pete Domenici.” [
October 2006: Rep. Wilson Calls
Iglesias. Iglesias receives a telephone call from Republican
Rep. Heather Wilson and is asked about sealed indictments in the corruption case
against Democrats. Her question "raised red flags in my head," according to
Iglesias. [
October 2006: Domenici Calls
Iglesias. Iglesias has a brief telephone conversation with
Republican Sen. Pete Domenici in which he tells the senator that indictments
against Democrats in a corruption case regarding courthouse construction
projects would not be handed down before the November election. The conversation
ends abruptly when Domenici hangs up. "I felt sick afterwards," says Iglesias.
[
November 15, 2006: Iglesias Appears
on List to be Dismissed. Kyle Sampson sends a document to
Harriet Miers and William Kelley entitled “Plan for Replacing Certain U.S.
Attorneys.” Iglesias is on the list of those slated to be dismissed.
[http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/DOJdocsPt2070313.pdf, Page
15-16]
Late 2006: NM GOP Chair Complains to
Rove About Iglesias. Weh visits the White House and asks Rove
again about Iglesias. Weh claims that Rove remarked, "He's gone." [
Dec. 7, 2006: Iglesias Is Asked to
Resign. Iglesias is asked to resign. The spokesman for the
March 13, 2007: Sampson
Resigns. Kyle Sampson resigns his position as Chief of Staff
for Gonzales, after acknowledging he did not tell other Justice Department
officials earlier about the extent of his communications with the White House
about firing the prosecutors. [Reuters, 3/13/07]
April 2007: Senate Votes to Probe
Domenici. In April 2007, the Senate adopted a resolution (S.
Res 153) to launch a "preliminary inquiry" over his involvement in the firing of
Iglesias. [Politico, 4/17/07]
August 2007: Ethics Committee
Investigates
April 24, 2008:
Domenici Is Admonished by
Senate Ethics Committee. The Senate Ethics Committee issued a
"qualified admonition" of Domenici for the phone call he made to Iglesias.
[Politico, 4/24/08]
