Dems cry interference as prosecutors question dismissals

Story Highlights

• Attorneys say they won't speculate on firings but cite differences with Washington
• GOP congresswoman denies pressuring prosecutor "in any way"
• Republican senator says he regrets making calls to check on certain cases
• Justice Department says office director's resignation unrelated to controversy

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A recently canned former U.S. attorney, who has promised to name two lawmakers he says pressured him to build cases against Democrats, is scheduled to testify Tuesday before congressional committees.

Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias of New Mexico is one of eight federal prosecutors appointed by President Bush who were dismissed in a Justice Department shake-up last year.

At least six indicate they were summarily sacked after expressing differences with Washington. They were scheduled to testify Tuesday to Congress -- four before the Senate Judiciary Committee and two before a House Judiciary subcommittee.

The Justice Department contends they were fired because of job performance. A statement from the six testifying attorneys says they were given "little or no information" as to why they were dismissed and they will refrain from speculation.

Meanwhile, the director who conveyed the bad news to the attorneys has resigned, saying his decision to leave has been in the works since June. The Justice Department says the resignation is unrelated to the controversy.

Iglesias' claims last week of congressional pressure to snare Democrats has prompted two Republican lawmakers from New Mexico to come forward. Iglesias named Sen. Pete Domenici as one of those legislators; he did not name the other.

In a Tuesday statement, Rep. Heather Wilson adamantly denied pressuring Iglesias and said she contacted him only after receiving calls from constituents who complained about the slow pace of federal prosecutions in response to allegations of corruption in New Mexico.

One constituent told her that Iglesias intentionally was delaying corruption cases, Wilson said in the statement.

Lawmaker apologizes if call 'misperceived'

"While I shared public frustration with the pace of prosecutions, I have always thought Mr. Iglesias to be an honorable man who would not do something like that," she said. "I called Mr. Iglesias and told him the allegation, though not the source. Mr. Iglesias denied delaying prosecutions. He said he had very few people to handle corruption cases. I told him that I would take him at his word, and I did."

Wilson said she did not "pressure him in any way" and that she had no say in the Justice Department decision to fire him.

"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," Wilson said in the statement.

Wilson's remarks came two days after an acknowledgement by Domenici that he called Iglesias last year to ask about the status of a corruption probe involving state Democrats. (Full story)

Iglesias has said he interpreted that call -- which was made before the November congressional elections -- as a form of political pressure, and Domenici said Sunday that he called to complain that the U.S. attorney had been unable to prosecute several federal immigration and drug violations.

Domenici said he regrets making the call "in retrospect."

The Justice Department confirmed Monday that Domenici had called the department's top dogs four times in the last year to complain about Iglesias. None of the calls involved public corruption investigations, said department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse.

A liberal watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, filed a complaint with the Senate ethics committee, stating that Domenici may have broken Senate rules by inquiring about a pending case. The committee announced Monday evening that it is obligated to begin a preliminary inquiry.

The watchdog group further alleged Tuesday that Wilson, too, had violated the ethics rules of the House of Representatives. It announced it was requesting an investigation into Wilson because the House ethics manual "prohibits members from contacting executive or agency officials regarding the merits of matters under their formal consideration," according to a news release.

The release adds, "House rules also state that a member may not claim he or she was merely requesting 'background information' or a 'status report' because the House has recognized that such requests 'may in effect be an indirect or subtle effort to influence the substantive outcome of the proceedings.' "

Ex-prosecutors: No reason given for firings

As the dismissed attorneys prepared to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee and House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, the group issued a statement Monday outlining its qualms.

"In most of our cases, we were given little or no information about the reason for the request for our resignations," Carol Lam, a former federal prosecutor in San Diego, California, said in a statement on the group's behalf. "This hearing is not a forum to engage in speculation, and we decline to speculate about the reasons."

Lam skippered the bribery probe that prompted U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham to plead guilty in 2005 to accepting more than $2 million in bribes. The same probe led to the indictment last month of Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, the former No. 3 official at the CIA who faces 11 counts, including wire fraud, money laundering and depriving taxpayers of honest services. (Full story)

"We viewed it as a part of our duties to engage in discussion about these priorities with our colleagues and superiors at the Justice Department," Lam said in the statement. "When we had new ideas or differing opinions, we assumed that such thoughts would always be welcomed by the department and could be freely and openly debated within the halls of that great institution."

Democrats are claiming the attorneys are political casualties of rankling the Bush administration and are accusing the White House of interference. The Justice Department denies the allegations.

Bush appointed all six prosecutors during his first term.

Resignation raises questions

In a matter the Justice Department says is unrelated to the controversy, the director of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys has resigned, saying in a statement that he has planned since June to return to private practice.

Mike Battle, who delivered news of the dismissals to the six attorneys, is a liaison between top Justice Department officials and the corps of 93 U.S. attorneys. He has held the position since June 2005.

Though Battle was included on discussions about the attorneys' performance, he was not involved in the decision to fire them, the Justice Department said.

Democrats aren't buying it.

"While Mike Battle, a man of integrity, must issue the customary denial, the timing of his resignation asks whether he's another casualty of the U.S. attorneys' imbroglio," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, who will lead the Senate hearing.

Rep. Linda Chavez, D-California, who chairs the House subcommittee holding Tuesday's hearings, added, "The wheels seem to be coming off the Bush administration's increasingly hollow defense of its decision to fire eight U.S. attorneys."

The White House, however, scoffed at the idea that Battle's resignation was related to the dismissals.

"He's made it known for many months that he's wanted to move on, so it's certainly not news," White House spokesman Tony Snow said.

CNN's Dana Bash and Terry Frieden contributed to this report.

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