Special Counsel To Investigate Attorney's Firing

According to fired US Attorney , David Iglesias, the Office of Special Counsel, which protects federal government whistleblowers has begun an enquiry into whether his dismissal, and that of other US Attorneys, violated federal laws.

Justice Department officials have said they added Iglesias to the list of prosecutors to be dismissed because his supervisors deemed him an ``absentee landlord,'' who delegated too much authority to his second-in-command. Iglesias acknowledges traveling out of New Mexico on U.S. attorney business and that he has spent some 40 to 45 days a year in his service in the Navy Reserve.

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act prohibits an employer from denying any benefit of employment on the basis of an individual's military service.

A Justice Department spokesman did not immediately return a call for comment Thursday.

New Mexico Republicans, including Sen. Pete Domenici, complained to White House and Justice Department officials that Iglesias moved too slowly on voter fraud and political corruption cases.

Iglesias says he was fired for resisting pressure from Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., to rush indictments in an investigation of an alleged kickback scheme involving Democrats. Domenici and Wilson acknowledge calling Iglesias in October before the 2006 election, but they say they did not pressure him.

Iglesias said his discussions with the Special Counsel's staff includes questions about whether the pressure from officials to act on voter fraud or corruption cases might violate the Hatch Act, which prohibits civil servants from engaging in partisan political activity.

Iglesias said the Special Counsel also is looking into whether he might have a claim under whistleblower protection laws, even though he was dismiseed two months before he publicly discussed the calls he received from Wilson and Domenici. Iglesias said the details are still being researched.

Heh. If they stick with the absentee-landord thing, he gets them on a violation of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act and if they admit it was because of Domenici's pressure, he gets them on the Hatch Act. I bet Gonzales and crew are regretting firing such a bright spark.

Update TPM's Justin Rood, now over at ABC's "The Blotter", has revealed that yet another Bush administration official is facing investigation, this time for what looks like a clear breach of the Hatch Act:

The Office of Special Counsel confirmed to ABC News it has launched an investigation into General Services Administration chief Lurita Doan, probing concerns she may have violated a ban against conducting partisan political activity at government expense by participating in a meeting featuring a presentation by a White House political aide on GOP election strategy.

Doan's agency spends over $56 billion a year on paper clips, office space, car fleets and other necessities for federal agencies.

In January, Doan attended a meeting at which senior White House political aide W. Scott Jennings briefed Doan, a White House appointee, and other officials at a GSA facility on Republican plans to win seats in Congress.

After the presentation, according to some witnesses contacted by congressional investigators, Doan encouraged other attendees to find ways GSA could help "our candidates" in the 2008 election. Doan has told Congress she doesn't recall making the statement, and other witnesses interviewed by congressional investigators are said to have backed her up.

Rood also reveals that Karl Rove and Ken Mehlman have been holding breifings just like this one in just about every government department since 2002. So watch out for more investigations and eventual indictments of other Bush officials for Hatch Act violations.