Politics

Former Prosecutor Talks about Crossing the Political Line

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host

Published April 20, 2009 at 5:37 AM PDT

This story was published more than 14 years ago.

Is justice blind? Not according to Former U.S. Attorney for New Mexico, David Iglesias. He'll talk about why he and seven other prosecutors were fired by the Bush administration.

Maureen Cavanaugh: When the Bush administration fired 8 well-respected federal prosecutors back in 2006, it wasn't long before the news media and legislators sensed something fishy. The unprecedented firings of the appointed prosecutors, including San Diego's Carol Lam, led to Congressional hearings, a Department of Justice inquiry and the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez.

But the case is not over, especially not the case surrounding the firing of my guest, former New Mexico U.S. Attorney David Iglesias. The House Judiciary Committee announced last month an agreement to take testimony from former Bush aides Harriet Myers and Karl Rove about the US attorney firings and a Federal Grand Jury is investigating whether criminal charges should be brought in the case.

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Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias's lecture "Do the Right Thing - When Good Institutions Do Bad Things" is Monday, April 20, at 7 p.m. at UCSD's Price Center.

Guest

David Iglesias, former U.S. Attorney for New Mexico who was fired by the Justice Department in 2006 and author of In Justice: Inside the Scandal that Rocked the Bush Administration.