UPDATE: Former US Attorney David Iglesias
Back in February of 2007 ePluribus Media published a series on the Prosecutor Purge, entitled "The Gonzales Seven". Among this group of seven US Attorneys was David Iglesias, former US Attorney for the District of New Mexico.
To quote liberally from the excellent Journal article by Duke Falconer, here is a little background on Iglesias:
Ironically, of the seven US Attorneys purged by Alberto Gonzales last December, David C. Iglesias of New Mexico, who has received little attention in the press, is perhaps the most famous of the group...but most people just don't know it.
While a Navy JAG officer in 1986 he was the defense counsel in a Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, court-martial of two men accused of assaulting a fellow Marine. Iglesias, and his defense in that case, later became the inspiration for the movie, "A Few Good Men."
Nominated for the position of US Attorney by George W. Bush in August of 2001 and approved by the US Senate in October, Iglesias became the first Hispanic to serve as U.S. attorney since the Nixon administration.
He announced his "forced resignation" on December 19, 2006.
Back in July of 2008, Intrepid Liberal had the opportunity to interview Mr. Iglesias about his book "In Justice" and shared the interview overview and a 16 minute podcast with our readers.
The interview is reposted here, please refer to the media player below.
Iglesias is seems has come full circle. The New Mexico Independent reports that Iglesias has accepted a Naval assignment -- JAG at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Ultimately, Iglesias said, he wants to make sure those who committed terrorist acts are brought to justice, and that those who didn’t are set free.
Iglesias has shown himself to be a man of incredible integrity, and we can only hope he brings this same integrity to bear in his new assignment.
Further Reading
Image credit: New Mexico Independent/article cited above
Comments
carol white
January 22, 2009 - 10:16
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"In Justice"
I would like to recommend Iglesias' book, In Justice: The Scandal That Rocked the Bush Administration.. His account of how Karl Rove politicized the Justice Dept. is an eye-opener. On December 7, 3006 (another Day of Infamy as it turned out) he received a call advising him that he had been appointed one of seven U.S. Attorneys. He then was pressured to participate in a political campaign to purge Democrats from the voter rolls. Even though he had been a loyal supporter of President Bush he refused to comply after he failed to find irregularities. He also refused to prematurely release sealed details of an ongoing prosecution intended to scandalize local Democrats.His testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee along with other members of the Justice Department was instrumental in implicating Pres. Bush in the unfolding scandal and in forcing Atty Gen. Gonazles and Karl Rove to resign from office.
He gives a thorough account of his role in the whole affair and in the process reveals himself to be a brave man of principle. Even though the events he describes are happily behind us justice still needs to be done. In my opinion he is just the man to do the job at Gitmo.
carol
Land of Enchantment
January 22, 2009 - 10:17
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It makes sense
He's a wingnut, more or less, politically. But he's a tough lawyer, not entirely unlike Patrick Fitzgerald as a prosecutor. And having been on the receiving end of BushCo injustice, he won't be apologizing for their BS. The Tom Cruise character in A Few Good Men was based on Iglesias. Amongst other things, that means he's worked at Guantanamo before. Before it was "Gitmo", back even before Clinton was President.
carol white
January 22, 2009 - 14:06
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An interview with the Iglesias about his new appointment
carol
avahome
January 22, 2009 - 17:02
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Good interview....prosecutor only....
Somehow I wasn't aware that there were 250 prisoners being held. I am thinking that perhaps more prosecutors will be needed to be able to close the doors in a 1 year time frame.
Roxy
January 22, 2009 - 20:52
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Just finished reading
The end of Torture from Newsweek.
Obama's directive gives his administration up to one year to shut down Guantánamo—a far longer time span than many human-rights groups would favor. The order directs his newly created interagency panel to review the status of all 240 prisoners there and seek to return as many as possible to third countries that will agree to take them—a goal the Bush administration tried to accomplish on its own with only limited success.