 US
Attorneys
 2008
Election
Heather Wilson News.
New Mexico Republican Heather Wilson News
Congress.gov biography:
"WILSON, Heather, a Representative from
New Mexico; born in Keene, Cheshire County, N.H., December 30, 1960; graduated
from Keene High School, Keene, N.H.; B.S. United States Air Force Academy,
Colorado Springs, Colo., 1982; Rhodes Scholar, M.Phil., Oxford University,
Oxford, England, 1984; D.Phil., Oxford University, Oxford, England, 1985;
United States Air Force, 1978-1989; cabinet secretary of the New Mexico
Children, Youth and Families Department, 1995-1998; director for European
Defense Policy and Arms Control, National Security Council, 1989-1991;
elected as a Republican to the One Hundred Fifth Congress by special election,
to fill the vacancy caused by the death of United States Representative
Steven Schiff, reelected to the five succeeding Congresses (June 23, 1998-present)."
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Heather
Wilson
HEATHER WILSON News:
20080122
-
 Alberto
Gonzales
-  Pete
Domenici - Heather
Wilson -  Criminal
- US
Attorneys -  Politics
- Hatch
Act -  Federal
-  Law
- Civil
Rights - 2006
Election - 2008
Election -  New
Mexico -  Minnesota
- "Attorneys
probe deepens." ... "The federal investigation into
the firing of nine U.S. attorneys could jolt the political landscape ahead
of the November [2008] elections, according to several people close to
the inquiry." ... "Washington’s attention has been diverted from the scandal
since the August resignation of Alberto Gonzales as attorney general, and
has focused instead on Democrats’ efforts to hold White House officials
in contempt for ignoring congressional subpoenas to testify on Capitol
Hill about the firings." ... "But recent behind-the-scenes activity in
several investigations suggests that the issue that roiled Congress in
2007 could re-emerge in the heat of the [2008] election year. Two inquiries
by the House and Senate ethics committees are examining whether several
congressional Republicans, including one running for the Senate this year,
improperly interfered with investigations." ... "As potent as the congressional
probes might be, they appear to be far narrower than a sprawling inquiry
launched by the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG)
and the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR)." ... "Investigators
from these offices have been questioning whether senior officials lied
to Congress, violated the criminal provisions in the Hatch Act, tampered
with witnesses preparing to testify to Congress, obstructed justice, took
improper political considerations into account during the hiring and firing
of U.S. attorneys and created widespread problems in the department’s Civil
Rights Division, according to several people familiar with the investigation."
... "The internal Justice Department probe cannot bring charges but can
refer findings to a U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia or a special
prosecutor, who could then pursue a criminal investigation." ... "[Former
New Mexico U.S. Attorney David] Iglesias’s case is in the crosshairs of
all three investigations. Testifying before Congress, he alleged last year
that Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) and Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) pressured
him to accelerate an investigation of a Democratic politician in New Mexico
ahead of Wilson’s tight [2006] reelection bid. Iglesias said he did not
plan to bring charges before the November elections, and was fired in December
2006." ... "In a sign that the investigation has widened beyond the nine
fired attorneys, Justice last summer interviewed Thomas Heffelfinger, U.S.
attorney in Minnesota, who resigned before it was revealed that he was
targeted for dismissal." -By Manu Raju
-TheHill.com
20070426
-
 Renzi
- Domenici
- Wilson
-  Hastings
-  Ariz
- NM
- Seattle
-  WA
- 2006
Election - US
Attorneys - Law
- "Renzi
Aide Called U.S. Attorney to Ask About Probe: Chief
of Staff Inquired About Land Deal Investigation; Prosecutor Among Eight
Who Were Fired." ... "The top aide to [Arizona Republican Representative]
Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) called the office of Arizona's U.S. attorney
about six weeks before the prosecutor was fired, inquiring about a federal
probe into the congressman's role in a land deal that benefited a former
business partner and political patron." ... "The former U.S. attorney,
Paul K. Charlton, told House investigators this week that his office alerted
the Justice Department's headquarters about the call from Renzi's chief
of staff, Brian Murray, because he considered it potentially improper,
according to congressional sources who spoke about the probe on the condition
of anonymity. Justice rules require prosecutors to report contacts from
members of Congress seeking information about investigations." ... "The
incident means that Charlton was the third of eight U.S. attorneys forced
to resign last year who had reported to Justice officials that Republican
members of Congress or their staffs made inappropriate overtures to their
offices about politically sensitive investigations they were supervising."
... "The former U.S. attorney for New Mexico, David C. Iglesias, has told
Congress he felt pressured to speed up an indictment of Democrats during
phone calls last October from [New Mexico Republican Senator] Sen.
Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.) and [New Mexico Republican Representative]
Rep. Heather A. Wilson (R-N.M.). And former U.S. attorney John McKay of
Seattle has said he was called by the chief of staff to [Washington Republican
Representative] Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) about a preliminary inquiry
into [2006 election] voter fraud in Washington state." -By
Amy Goldstein and Dan Eggen -WashingtonPost
20070415
-
Domenici
- Gonzales
-
 Rove
- Wilson
- US
Attorneys - Law
- Politics
- 2006
Election - New
Mexico - "Domenici
Sought Iglesias Ouster." ... "Former U.S. Attorney
David Iglesias was fired after [New Mexico Republican Senator] Sen. Pete
Domenici, who had been unhappy with Iglesias for some time, made a personal
appeal to the White House, the Journal has learned." ... "Domenici had
complained about Iglesias before, at one point going to Attorney General
Alberto Gonzales before taking his request to the president as a last resort."
... "At some point after the [2006] election last Nov. 6, Domenici called
Bush's senior political adviser, Karl Rove, and told him he wanted Iglesias
out and asked Rove to take his request directly to the president." ...
"Domenici and Bush subsequently had a telephone conversation about the
issue." ... "The conversation between Bush and Domenici occurred sometime
after the [2006] election but before the firings of Iglesias and six other
U.S. attorneys were announced on Dec. 7." ... "Iglesias' name first showed
up on a Nov. 15 list of federal prosecutors who would be asked to resign.
It was not on a similar list prepared in October." ... "Senate and House
Democrats have focused on a telephone call Domenici made to Iglesias in
October." ... "Iglesias testified before the congressional committees that
Domenici called him at home [prior to the 2006 election] and asked if indictments
were imminent in a public corruption investigation of Albuquerque's Metropolitan
Courthouse construction. Iglesias told him indictments were not expected
anytime soon." ... "Iglesias testified that Domenici said, "I'm very sorry
to hear that." And then hung up." ... "Iglesias said he felt "pressured"
and "violated" by the telephone call but did not report it to Justice Department
headquarters as required." ... "Democrats have accused Domenici of attempting
to influence the outcome of a tight congressional race between incumbent
Republican Heather Wilson [New Mexico Representative] and former [Democratic]
state Attorney General Patricia Madrid. Wilson won the election by fewer
than 900 votes." ... "Delays in the courthouse case led to frustration
among Republicans who had tried to make Madrid's track record on ethics
and corruption cases an issue in the Madrid-Wilson race." -By
Mike Gallagher -ABQjournal.com
20070306
-
Wilson
- Domenici
- New
Mexico - 2006
Election - Rove
- Government
- Law
- Enforcement
- Politics
- "Second
Lawmaker Contacted Prosecutor: Wilson Complained
About Pace of Probes." ... "[New Mexico Republican] Rep. Heather A. Wilson
(R-N.M.) acknowledged yesterday that she contacted a federal prosecutor
to complain about the pace of his public corruption investigations, as
the Senate ethics committee signaled that it had opened a preliminary inquiry
into a similar communication by her state's senior senator, [New Mexico
Republican] Pete V. Domenici (R)." ... "Wilson denied allegations from
former New Mexico U.S. Attorney David C. Iglesias that she pressured him
to speed up a political corruption investigation involving Democrats in
the waning days of her tight [2006] election campaign last fall." ... "Iglesias,
one of seven U.S. attorneys fired by the Justice Department on Dec. 7,
is expected to tell Congress today that Wilson and Domenici were trying
to sway the course of his investigation. Domenici acknowledged Sunday that
he called Iglesias about the corruption case but said he did not pressure
him. The telephone calls to Iglesias by Domenici and Wilson appear to put
them in conflict with congressional ethics rules that bar contacts with
federal agency officials during most active investigations." ... "The furor
over Domenici and Wilson has rapidly become the focus of the dispute over
the firings of eight U.S. attorneys and a change in law that allows Attorney
General Alberto R. Gonzales to appoint interim prosecutors for an indefinite
period of time. The Justice Department has said that seven of the prosecutors
were dismissed for failing to follow Bush administration policy on multiple
issues, and acknowledged that one was sacked to make way for an ally of
White House political adviser Karl Rove." ... "But most of the prosecutors
have cited positive job reviews, and Democrats have alleged that there
were political motivations behind the firings." (1, 2)
-By Paul Kane and Dan Eggen
-WashingtonPost
20070301
-
New
Mexico - 2006
Election - Law
- Enforcement
-
 Money
- "Sources:
GOP lawmakers tried to influence federal investigation."
... "[New Mexico Republican Senators] Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Heather
Wilson of New Mexico pressured the U.S. attorney in their state to speed
up indictments in a federal corruption investigation that involved at least
one former Democratic state senator, according to two people familiar with
the contacts." ... "The alleged involvement of the two Republican lawmakers
raises questions about possible violations of House of Representatives
and Senate ethics rules and could taint the criminal investigation into
the award of an $82 million courthouse contract." ... "The two people with
knowledge of the incident said Domenici and Wilson intervened in mid-October,
when Wilson was in a competitive re-election campaign that she won by 875
votes out of nearly 211,000 cast." ... "David Iglesias, who stepped down
as U.S. attorney in New Mexico on Wednesday, told McClatchy Newspapers
that he believed the Bush administration fired him Dec. 7 because he resisted
the pressure to rush an indictment." ... "The allegations have fueled a
weeks-long controversy over whether the Bush administration forced out
eight Republican-appointed U.S. attorneys because of partisan politics."
-By Marisa Taylor -McClatchy
via -RealCities
20061102
-
 Foley
-  Ohio
-  Florida
- NM
-  NY
- Police
- Election
2006 - "Scandals
Alone Could Cost Republicans Their House Majority."
... "Indictments, investigations and allegations of wrongdoing have helped
put at least 15 Republican House seats in jeopardy, enough to swing control
to the Democrats on Tuesday [2006 Election] even before the larger issues
of war, economic unease and President Bush are invoked." ... "Democrats
have repeatedly hit [Republican] Rep. Deborah Pryce (Ohio), the House Republican
Conference chairman, for inaction on the [Florida Republican Mark] Foley
matter. And Democrats have tried to hold two former members of the Page
Board, [New York Republican] Reps. Sue W. Kelly (N.Y.) and [New Mexico
Republican] Heather A. Wilson (N.M.), accountable for Foley's actions."
... "Meanwhile, new allegations continue to spring up. Vern Buchanan, a
Republican running for the Florida seat vacated by Rep. Katherine Harris
(R), was the target of local media reports this week detailing his use
of business entities in Caribbean tax havens to reduce levies on his auto
dealerships. The Albany Times Union published an article yesterday charging
that the wife of [New York Republican] Rep. John E. Sweeney (R-N.Y.) called
police late last year to report that her husband was "knocking her around"
during a late-night argument." -By Jonathan Weisman
and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum -WashingtonPost
20060217
-
 Intelligence
-  Privacy
- Law
- New
Mexico -  Michigan
- "Accord
in House to Hold Inquiry on Surveillance." ... "Leaders
of the House Intelligence Committee said Thursday that they had agreed
to open a Congressional inquiry prompted by the Bush administration's domestic
surveillance program. But a dispute immediately broke out among committee
Republicans over the scope of the inquiry." ... "Representative Heather
A. Wilson, the New Mexico Republican and committee member who called last
week for the investigation, said the review "will have multiple avenues,
because we want to completely understand the program and move forward.""
... "But an aide to Representative Peter Hoekstra, the Michigan Republican
who leads the committee, said the inquiry would be much more limited in
scope, focusing on whether federal surveillance laws needed to be changed
and not on the eavesdropping program itself." -By
Eric Lichtbalu and Sheryl Gay Stolberg -NYTimes
20050526
-
- New
Mexico - "GOP
drops effort to restrict roles of women in combat:
$491b defense bill passes in House." ... "House Republicans abandoned their
own plan yesterday to curb the role of women in combat zones after it ran
into opposition from the Pentagon and lawmakers from both parties." ...
''There will be no restrictions in statute for how the Army can assign
women in the military," said Representative Heather Wilson, Republican
of New Mexico. The only female veteran now serving in Congress, Wilson
was a leading opponent of the plan that was dropped." -By
Liz Sidoti -AP
via -Boston/Globe
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