Iglesias Finds Schlozman’s Testimony Unbelievable

Former U.S. Attorney for New Mexico David Iglesias said he finds Bradley Schlozman’s testimony about Craig Donsanto unbelievable.

Schlozman told a Senate Judiciary panel yesterday that while he was the interim U.S. Attorney in Missouri he brought four criminal voter fraud prosecutions on the eve of the 2006 midterm election after getting the go-ahead from Donsanto, the director of the election crimes branch at the department.

Donsanto is a career attorney at the Justice Department who literally wrote the book on Justice Department policy. One of the policies he outlines bars US attorneys from bringing election fraud cases before an election to prevent a chilling effect on voters.

Iglesias oversaw a voter fraud task force from 2004 until the summer of 2006 in New Mexico. He said during that time he consulted Donsanto on numerous occasions, including just before the 2004 election because the elections crime director was known as a “wise old owl when it came to voter fraud cases.”

I asked Iglesias about an email we flagged yesterday that he had sent to a Justice Department aide saying there would be no indictments before the 2004 election because Donsanto would never approve it.

“I actually saw the email that I sent on TPMmuckraker and I know exactly what you’re talking about,” he said. “I had numerous conversations with [Donsanto] over the course of two years, I can’t believe that he’d have gone 180 degrees on that policy,” Iglesias said. “I just don’t believe it.”

Iglesias was in touch with Donsanto up until the summer of 2006, just before Schlozman would have received approval to bring the indictments. Iglesias said he can’t imagine a scenario where Donsanto would have changed his mind on the department’s voter fraud policy.

“Giving Brad Schlozman the benefit of the doubt, he must have completely misunderstood what Donsanto told him,” Iglesias said.

The Justice Department did not respond to calls requesting comment. Donsanto did not reply to an email message, though Iglesias guesses he is not allowed to speak to the press.