The Iglesias firing trail leads right to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue....

[marmar]

from Josh Micah Marshall at TPM:

Can I get your attention for a second?

You're going to hear a lot about Al Gonzales on the Hill, document dumps and timelines and a lot of other stuff. But not much else you're going to see in the Purge story is going to be as important as this story that ran this morning in The Albuquerque Journal. I mentioned it below and Paul Kiel has a detailed analysis of it here.

But here's what it amounts to.

It was Sen. Domenici's (R-NM) call to David Iglesias to get him to game the November election with an election-timed indictment that gone this scandal really rolling. And it's always been the key question just how and whether Domenici's failed play to get Iglesias to tamper with the November election led to his firing on December 7th.

Now, we know a much more detailed timeline about just what happened.

As we've known Domenici had been complaining about Iglesias for some time. President Bush and Karl Rove had also been complaining to Gonzales about Iglesias's record prosecuting 'voter fraud'. Domenici told Gonzales he wanted Iglesias out back in the Spring of 2006. But Gonzales said he would only fire Iglesias on the president's orders.

Now, let's fast foward to just before the November election. Iglesias didn't show up on the firing list prepared in October 2006. Then Domenici makes his call sometime a couple weeks or so before the election. He doesn't get satisfaction from Iglesias. And then shortly after the election, Domenici puts in a call to Karl Rove. He tells Rove he wants Iglesias fired. And he asks Rove to take his message directly to the president. That lead to a telephone conversation between Domenici and the president himself, presumably arranged by Rove.

From the article we don't know the precise date of the Rove and Bush conversations. But we do know that Iglesias's name first shows up on the firing list on November 15th.

No one disputes that Domenici's call to Iglesias was at best inappropriate. But there's been a lack of direct evidence that Iglesias's refusal to bow to political pressure led directly to his firing. Now we have have that evidence. And it's not Kyle Sampson or even Alberto Gonzales who Domenici went to to get sign off for Iglesias's ouster. It was right to the president. And the available evidence now points strongly the conclusion that the final decision to fire David Iglesias.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/

[flyarm]

Josh is all over this!! and the voting issue involved in this!!

Yeah Josh./.he has the dots connected!!

remember the rethuglican projections..they project on dems what they are actually doing and then they mask it all with chaos!!..

fly

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Will we finally see someone

decide its time for Impeachment?

[Rex]

2. Good! Finally a criminal trail that leads DIRECTLY to George Bush Jr.

Now we are getting somewhere! A million thanks for this post! :hi:

[SpiralHawk]

3. Pistol Pete D. -- Just another corrupt republicon crony

Dissing America and its laws for short-sighted personal gain.

Why are so many republicons corrupt liars?

[burythehatchet]

4. ole' Pete may not even finish his term

[marmar]

5. We can hope!

:)

[Straight Shooter]

6. Interesting comments on the story at TPM Muckraker

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/003017.php

Look at tbhull's comments. She/he does not think it is an impeachable offense, but does believe the wiretapping without warrant is an impeachable offense.

Well, we all know how far we've gotten with impeaching bush for breaking that law. :(