We told you yesterday about Allen Weh’s hilarious claim that, in working to get David Iglesias fired as U.S. attorney because he wasn’t prioritizing bogus voter fraud cases that would help Republicans, Weh, then the state GOP chair, was actually going against his party.
And now, Iglesias has responded. In a lengthy statement to TPMmuckraker, Iglesias calls Weh’s claim “a world class display of chutzpah,” and writes that Weh, who yesterday formally announced his campaign for New Mexico governor, “may not be in touch with reality or may not even be literate.”
Noting that Weh is still trying to claim that he was fired for poor performance, Iglesias writes:
This “performance based” allegation is no longer on the table for debate; the [DOJ and Congressional investigations] have completely vindicated me and my prior office. It was illegal politics, not performance that drove the U.S. Attorney scandal.
Iglesias accuses Weh of joining “the entrenched status quo when he supported former Senator Pete Domenici, former Congresswoman Heather Wilson and political hit men like Karl Rove and Pat Rogers in attempting to illegally politicize the Justice Department.”
And he adds:
In another age Weh would have continued to argue the world is flat despite all evidence to the contrary.
Here’s the full statement from Iglesias:
I read with great amusement Allen Weh’s recent comments about me and his role in my forced resignation. After the initial bemusement wore off I became alarmed that this gubernatorial candidate may not be in touch with reality or may not even be literate.
Weh took credit for my forced resignation, but nonsensically, still claims it was due to poor performance. This position is completely without any basis in fact and has been proven demonstrably false by the Justice Department’s 358 page investigation into the firing of the U.S. Attorneys1, the 71 page Justice Department’s 2006 official evaluation of my office, the House Judiciary Committee’s two and one half year investigative report,2 the Director of the Executive Office of United States Attorneys (EOUSA) letter to me, and the March 29, 2007, sworn testimony of former Chief of Staff to the Attorney General, Kyle Sampson.3 This “performance based” allegation is no longer on the table for debate; the above official findings have completely vindicated me and my prior office. It was illegal politics, not performance that drove the U.S. Attorney scandal. Weh, in a world class display of chutzpah tries to argue the point in his campaign rhetoric.
What are the facts? First, my 2006 Office evaluation was conducted by a team of career, non-partisan attorneys and staff members. Their official finding about my leadership concluded I was ” …respected by the judiciary, agencies, and staff.”4 Second, Mike Battle, the former Director of EOUSA, wrote to me in January, 2006, that I had “exemplary leadership.” Third, Kyle Sampson when he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee said if he were to do it again, he would not place me on the list to be fired.5 Fourth, the Justice Department’s official investigation, conducted by a career Inspector General and another watchdog office, confirmed the DoJ office evaluation’s findings on my leadership and discredited the alleged performance based reasons of my firings as “after-the-fact rationalizations” and that my removal was the “…most troubling.”6 Finally, Chairman John Conyers of the House Judiciary Committee released a report last month that concluded a two year investigation into the scandal. Their report stated “Under the Bush regime, honest and well-performing U.S. attorneys were fired for petty patronage, political horsetrading and, in the most egregious case of political abuse of the U.S. attorney corps – that of U.S. Attorney Iglesias – because he refused to use his office to help Republicans win elections. When Mr. Iglesias said his firing was a ‘political fragging,’ he was right.” 7 This constitutes proof beyond any doubt. Despite this mountain of evidence, Weh clings to a delusional talking point.
In another age Weh would have continued to argue the world is flat despite all evidence to the contrary . Further, Weh is of the same ilk as AIG corporate heads who insisted on performance bonuses after bankrupting their company. How can Weh, despite his ruinous leadership, seek the governor’s office after he flew the New Mexico Republican party into a cliff? Under his disastrous watch, the party went from having three of five members in its Congressional delegation to zero members. The party became even more splintered under his jackbooted leadership. Given Weh’s background, he should know you can delegate power, but you cannot delegate responsibility. He is responsible for the catastrophic losses within the New Mexico GOP. And now he wants a promotion.
Weh claims that his active role in my firing is somehow evidence of his willingness to take on his own party. Just the contrary is true as he joined the entrenched status quo when he supported former Senator Pete Domenici, former Congresswoman Heather Wilson and political hit men like Karl Rove and Pat Rogers in attempting to illegally politicize the Justice Department. These efforts failed in New Mexico as they did in other states as a new Congress exercised its constitutionally mandated role in providing oversight over a deeply damaged Justice Department. Does Weh really value taking on one’s own party? If so, he will publicly praise the actions of the seven U.S. Attorneys who testified before Congress about the improper politicization of the Justice Department. Their testimony challenged the actions of several Republican members of Congress and the Bush appointed Attorney General and Deputy. If Weh is truly proud of his actions in helping ignite the greatest Justice Department scandal since Watergate, then he may be beyond political redemption.
I know that Weh knows what the term, “Semper Fidelis” means. He needs to learn another motto and practice it if he seeks to lead, not bludgeon, the New Mexican voter; “Semper Veritas”–always truthful.
