In Justice - by David Iglesias (Hardcover)

About the Book

The Bush administration's drive to politicize the executive branch reached a new low with the improper firing of seven U.S. Attorneys in late 2006. Iglesias was one of those attorneys, and now he tells his story.

Book Synopsis

The Bush administration's drive to politicize the Justice Department reached a new low with the wrongful firing of seven U.S. Attorneys in late 2006. Their action has ignited public outrage on a scale that far surpassed the reaction to any of the Bush administration's other political debacles. David Iglesias was one of those federal prosecutors, and now he tells his story.

Iglesias has long served in the Navy as part of the JAG corps. One of his earliest cases, about an assaulted Marine in Guantanamo Bay, became the basis for the movie A Few Good Men. When Bush chose him to become the U.S. Attorney for New Mexico, it was a dream come true. He was a core member of Karl Rove's idealized Republican Party of the future -- handsome, Hispanic, evangelical, and a military veteran. The dream came to an abrupt end when Senator Pete Domenici improperly called Iglesias, wanting him to indict high-level Democrats before the 2006 elections. When Iglesias refused, the line went dead. Iglesias was fired just weeks later. First, he was devastated. Then, he was angry. Now, he is speaking out.

Iglesias recounts his interactions with Bush, Rove, Alberto Gonzales, and other key players as he takes readers into his time at the Justice Department to reveal what top Republican officials said and did, and how they subverted justice.

From the Back Cover

The inside story of the biggestpolitical scandal of the decade

"A year later, the U.S. Attorney scandal still matters--and not simply because it ties Karl Rove and Harriet Miers to brazen efforts to manipulate both laws and legal processes for partisan ends. It also has legs because unlike so many of the Bush administration scandals, the trail neither begins nor ends with top-secret legal memos but with dozens of small e-mails, meetings, threats, and phone calls being investigated at various levels of government. Iglesias's book reminds us that while his former bosses may shred the e-mails, sack the bumblers, obstruct Congress, and--quoting Sampson again--try to gum this scandal to death, the truth will come out, eventually. His book is a good start."
--Dahlia Lithwick, Slate

"For those of us honored to have served as United States Attorneys, In Justice reminds us once again of the importance and sanctity of the responsibility entrusted to us. For future United States Attorneys, it provides a clear example of how one can and should serve with honor and integrity in this powerful post. For those men and women currently serving, it reveals to them how fleeting can be that power if others in positions of power seek to improperly pressure you and you refuse--as did David Iglesias--to accede to their improper entreaties."
-- Bob Barr, former United States Attorney and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (R-Ga.)

""In Justice" is a chilling tale of the subversion of the Constitution for political purposes. What was done to David Iglesias and his colleagues constitutes complete and utter disregard for the rule of law that underpins our great republic. Americans will rightly be appalled and Republicans ashamed at this abuse of power."
-- Joseph C. Wilson, author of "The Politics of Truth"

"The lasting value of David Iglesias's outstanding book extends far beyond its fascinating, insightful, and candid account of the political firestorm ignited by the simultaneous firings of seven United States Attorneys. Its account of the courageous, principled commitment of these U.S. Attorneys to assess cases according to the facts and the law rather than succumb to political pressure and partisan loyalties reveals how he and his colleagues turned an attempt to corrupt the finest traditions of the Department into a victory for the continued independence of U.S. Attorneys and the rule of law."
--James Eisenstein, Professor of Political Science, Penn State

Review Quotes

A U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico from 2000 to 2007, Iglesias has written an eye-opening account of his role in exposing the Justice Department scandal that began with the firing of seven District Attorneys and ended (arguably) with the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Talented, Hispanic, evangelical, a military veteran and a loyal Bush supporter, Iglesias's star was still on the rise when, in late 2006, he was asked to resign his job. All he could learn was that the decision had come "from on high," and that he was only one of seven asked to resign the same day. On this guided tour, Iglesias claims shocking attempts to "co-opt the Justice Department for political ends" with statements that as early as 2003, U.S. Attorneys were being pressured to purge Democrats from voter rolls wherever possible; Iglesias says he was thrown under the bus after refusing to release sealed details of an ongoing prosecution that would scandalize Democratic contenders in a local 2006 race. Iglesias's text, like his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, implicates a number of big dogs, including Gonzales and Karl Rove, as well as the President. Thorough and troubling, this record is a must-read for anyone who got caught up in the unfolding controversy. (June) RED STAR REVIEW (Publishers Weekly Online, June 2, 2008)

About the Author

DAVID IGLESIAS served as United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico from 2001 to 2007. He headed a panel that advised former Attorney General John Ashcroft on border security issues. A former White House Fellow, he is also a captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

DAVIN SEAY is the coauthor of numerous books, including "With God on Our Side: One Man's War against an Evangelical Coup in America's Military."